A fire sale performed by the Cubs last summer resulted in the relocation of several important players from their 2016 World Series-winning club.
With the trades of Kris Bryant to the Giants, Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees, and Javier Báez to the Mets, a squad that will live on the North Side of Chicago for all time was finally dismantled.V
Willson Contreras, the catcher, was one important player who was still with the team. Unlike the others, he had one more year of control left before he could become a free agent. Nearly a year later, Contreras is expected to be among the big players traded before this year’s Trade Deadline, which falls on August 2.
A National League executive stated, “It was kind of surprising that Contreras wasn’t traded last summer, or at least during the offseason.” “If by this year’s Deadline he isn’t moved, it would be an absolute stunner.”
With a 22-29 record going into Friday’s games, the Cubs were 10 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and 5 1/2 games shy of a Wild Card berth. With nine home runs in his first 43 games, Contreras has posted a slash line of.278/.401/.530, making him one of the few bright spots on the team. He leads all Major League catchers with a 1.9 fWAR.
“He’s the guy for a contender looking for a catcher this summer,” the executive stated. “He’s skilled enough to take that risk, even though it can be challenging to switch up positions in the middle of the season.”
Who else might be moving to affect the pennant battles besides Contreras, who is probably going to be one of the bigger names sold before the Deadline?
At the end of this season, Bogaerts would become a free agent if he exercises the opt-out clause in his contract. Through his first 50 games, he is slashing.323/.393/.473, but it hasn’t helped the Red Sox, who came into Friday at 24-27, 12 games behind the Yankees in first place in the AL East. If the Red Sox decide to sell, a lot of teams will be vying for Bogaerts since he is a great shortstop.
Martinez had an AL-best batting average of.360 and an OPS of.976 going into Friday’s play. Despite hitting just five home runs in his first 42 games, Martinez is still one of the game’s most dependable hitters. The pool of possible suitors is double the size it was prior to the NL using the DH. Martinez, who signed a five-year, $110 million contract with Boston, is making slightly over $19 million this season.
