Kamil Krzaczynski / USATODAY">
Report: Cubs looking at big-name pitchers via trade |
The Chicago Cubs have been making drastic changes this offseason with a massive shakeup in their coaching staff. The same will probably be true for their players on their roster as the team will look to get help with their starting rotation and firm up their beleaguered bullpen.
MLB.com's Phil Rogers thinks that the Cubs will go after starting pitchers and everyone is on the trade block expect for possibly three cornerstone players. "But now it sure sounds like Epstein and Co. are prioritizing the starting pitchers who could be available in a trade -- Chris Archer, Michael Fulmer, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Nola and Sean Manaea, to name five -- ahead of the position players who don't provide unique skills on the roster," Rogers said. "Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras are untouchable, but maybe nobody else." The Cubs will be looking for controllable young arms that won't break the bank with so many young positional players to re-sign in the coming years. Epstein said during his press conference after the NLCS loss that the Cubs will move players on their MLB roster if it will improve their ballclub. "I certainly think we have Major League talent to move in certain areas if we're able to find the right deal," Epstein said. "We also have plenty of prospects left available to trade. Maybe not headline guys, but there are trades to be made without touching our big league team if we want to. But I think our approach is we're going to pursue all avenues to get better, to make the Major League team better and to make our organization better." The Cubs offseason is setting up to be one of the craziest in many seasons as Epstein will more than likely make several changes to give his team the best possible shot to get back to the World Series in 2018.
