The Chicago Cubs are always looking under Theo and Co. to make a deal which is why this off-season has been so much fun. They have failed to deal the unmovable contract of Soriano but also have been unsuccessful in moving players like Marlon Byrd and Matt Garza (who is in line for a possible extension). Those two pieces are very valuable to not only the Cubs but other teams which could make the Cubs a very popular team at the trade deadline or before.
So when thinking of team that could use Garza and Byrd along with looking at other teams trade rumors I came across these nice tidbits. John Lannan has requested a trade after being demoted to AAA. Lannan name should sound familiar because the Cubs and Nationals recently talked about a Byrd/Lannan swap but the Nats wanted a top 20 prospect from the Cubs which was the tipping point. Now that Nationals seem a little more willing to make a deal and those talks are being revisited. But one hold up with that is the Cubs amount of starting pitchers and it is likely Lannan would be in the same position on the Cubs unless the Cubs dealt one of their starters or put Lannan in the pen.
Enter in the Yankees; who have been forced to put Pineda on the DL. So they are now going into the season with a less than “Yankee” rotation. So I would imagine the Yanks would love to add a person with success in the AL East like Matt Garza.
So after taking all this into account I suggest this 3-team trade between the Yankees, Cubs, and Nationals.
Yankees get Matt Garza and Trey McNutt
Nationals get Marlon Byrd and Cash
Cubs get John Lannan, Manny Banuelos, Mason Williams, Dante Bichette Jr., and Dellin Betances.
The Yankees get a guy to fill in the #2 spot in the rotation behind Sabathia in Matt Garza. Not only do they get him for this season but next season as well which means he is more than just a rental player. The Yankees also get a nice pitching prospect with him in Trey McNutt. McNutt is traded to the Yankees in order to get better quality prospects back the Cubs way. This move also lets Pineda get some more starts in AAA to work out his pitching woes.
The Nationals trade their disgruntled lefty John Lannan for a guy that plays the game the right way. The move would allow the Nationals to keep Harper in the minors for another full season and also move Bernadina to LF and let Mark DeRosa do what he is good at and that is coming off the bench.
The Cubs get their bounty even if they have to give up 3 good players to get it. The Cubs get John Lannan that could slide right into the vacant spot left by Matt Garza. The 4 from the Yankees will not be with the Chicago Cubs right away but most will be there sooner rather than later.
Manny Banuelos is a lefty ACE in the making and has spent time in every level at the ripe age of 20! He is labeled as the 29th best prospect in baseball before this season. You can see more of his impressive stats here.
Mason Williams has all the tools to be a Jacoby Ellsbury/Curtis Granderson type player which is would be very exciting for Cub fans to see a Szczur, Williams, and Jackson outfield. Mason Williams is the 85th best prospect in baseball and the 19 year old showed his promise in low A ball last year hitting .349 AVG with a .395 OBP with 3 homers, 31 RBI, and 28 SB. He also had 8 assist in just 129 chances!
Dante Bichette Jr. is the guy I would be most excited about. The son of Dante Bichette he can sure play ball! Bichette at the age of 18 hit .335 with a .440 OBP along with 4 homers and 48 RBI in 54 games! The guy has the makings of an All-star at 3rd base in the future.
Finally we have Dellin Betances who could be a future #2/3 starter of potential closer. Rated the 63rd best prospect in baseball he would likely complement Banuelos well in the rotation for Chicago. If you don’t think this guy is the real deal check out his numbers found here.
With this trade I think you could see this eventual lineup for the Chicago Cubs-
- Brett Jackson RF
- Mason Williams CF
- Starlin Castro SS
- Anthony Rizzo 1st
- Matt Szczur LF
- Dante Bichette Jr. 3b
- Javier Baez or Ronald Torreyes 2b
- Welington Castillo C
- Manny Banuelos
- Dellin Betances
- Gerardo Concepcion
- Dillon Maples
- Dae-Eun Rhee
Until Next Time….
