Cubs Trade Rumors: Should Chicago sell high on Kyle Schwarber?
By Josh Hill
Shuld the Chicago Cubs be open to the idea of trading Kyle Schwarber to upgrade their pitching staff?
It was a fun ride while it lasted, but the Chicago Cubs are no longer in the running to make Back To The Future II become somewhat of a reality. Instead, they now face an offseason of re-tooling that could involve trading a star on the rise that folks on the North Side are just starting to warm up to.
Kyle Schwarber had a helluva postseason, hitting five home runs over the course of two series and a Wild Card matchup, but could the Cubs sell high on a slugger who is the flavor of the week? He was outshone by Daniel Murphy’s home run hitting prowess, but there’s no denying that Scwarber has the skills to develop into a dangerous hitter in the near future.
MLB scribe Jeff Todd offered a solution that the Cubs might entertain the idea of trading Schwarber this winter for pitching but it’s not an idea you should bet on happening anytime soon.
"It’s a fair question, because he does seem like he’d be most useful to an AL club that could use him at least some of the time (and while he’s developing defensively) at DH. But I’m leaning against that, in part b/c I tend to believe the Cubs when they say they believe Schwarber can catch."
The idea that the Cubs might trade Schwarber seems like sacrilege at the moment on the North Side, but it’s something that could be considered. We’ve seen players like Yoenis Cespedes get traded a couple of times despite being sluggers who are the talk of town.
While it’s insane to think that the Cubs would move Scwarber, the argument lies in his ability to be a slugger — a skill that is better suited for American League clubs that have a DH slot to slide him into. Chicago could very well use him as an everyday catcher or perhaps even an outfielder, but AL clubs would have more flexibility in using him as opposed to the Cubs.
That being said, trading Schwarber now seems like a forced idea, even if it’s not out of the question. Chicago might entertain the idea later on in the year if their pitching staff isn’t up to snuff, but they’ll try to fix things in free agency before they think about moving Scwarber — which is an idea better left on the shelf as opposed to the trash.