The Chicago Cubs promised to be busy during the MLB Winter Meetings and they certainly meant it. On Tuesday, the Cubs made several moves to get some serious upgrades to the roster as they signed Ben Zobrist and traded Starlin Castro for pitcher Adam Warren. That gives the Cubs a huge upgrade in the infield and another strong pitcher to develop for the future. However, the team is not done making moves just yet as they are still looking at pitchers and outfielders to bring on.
According to Jonah Keri of ESPN.com, the Cubs are not done making moves during the winter meetings. For starters, trading Javier Baez might be an option moving forward. Baez's name has come up in plenty of deals and as the team looks for another pitcher or outfielder, he could be a key trade piece moving forward. Baez is young and has shown he has plenty of upside. With Zobrist now on the roster, he becomes very expendable to the team. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that for now Baez stays in the mix for the Cubs, but that might not last. The same can be said for Jorge Soler who has come up in talks as well.
"We value those guys tremendously," Epstein said, via the Tribune. "There's tremendous value holding onto the Baezs and Solers of the world and letting their talent manifest over a full major league season. They're guys who have the opportunmithy to play a major league seaon over six months. We're invested in both guys."
The Cubs must decide whether or not to chase a pitcher or outfielder next. The team has flexibility in terms of pay roll space after trading Castro and could use that for one more decent-sized deal if they want to spend the money. With Dexter Fowler hitting the market, the Cubs have been linked to Jason Heyward. However, after handing Zobrist the big contract, that might not be an option any more as Heyward will demand a bigger deal than the Cubs can likely afford. The Tribune writes that retaining Fowler might be a priority for the Cubs as they hope to get a hometown discount with the star. They will not get that with Heyward. As for pitching, trading for someone like Chris Sale or Julio Teheran could be an option while Johnny Cueto is still waiting on a contract. Ian Kennedy or Yovani Gallardo could be options as well.
