Cubs should trade these players to help build another World Series winner

1. Addison Russell

Addison Russell is only 23-years-old and has been the Cubs start shortstop for two and half seasons. He is an impressive offensive player who also happens to be one of the best defensive shortstops in Major League Baseball. Make no mistake about it, Addison Russell is an absolute star in the making. However, due to their extreme depth, I would not be shocked to see the Cubs move him.

Russell has elite offensive upside, but he has yet to be able to put it together on a consistent basis. In 1,506 big-league plate appearances, Russell is a career .240/.312/.408 hitter. His defensive ability makes up for it, but those are not impressive offensive numbers. Russell can dominate at the plate in stretches, but he has been far too inconsistent.

Trading a young shortstop who has proven big-league ability is extremely rare, but this could be the perfect situation for it to happen. In Baez, the Cubs have an easy replacement for Russell at short. Moving Baez over would allow the Cubs to play Happ and Zobrist at second base and open up plenty of starts for guys like Schwarber and Almora in the outfield.

But most importantly, trading Russell would allow the Cubs to set their sights high in the trade market. If they legitimately make him available, there will be plenty of teams interested and Chicago could add a big-time piece to their starting rotation.

Next: Offseason moves the Cubs must make

I know what you are probably thinking, why would the Cubs trade Baez, Happ or Russell when they could trade Zobrist or Schwarber. Well, I imagine that the Cubs would be fine trading Zobrist, but nobody is going to want him. He is coming off of the worst season of his career and is still owed $28 million over the next two years. They simply are not getting anything for him.

Trading Schwarber now would undoubtedly be selling low. There will be teams in the 24-year-old left-handed slugger, but Schwarber only hit .211/.315/.467 last season. The Cubs still see Schwarber as a valuable asset and I would be shocked to see them accept a trade for him at the moment. Simply put, nobody is going to come up to their asking price.

With that in mind, Baez, Happ and Russell seems like the most likely candidates. Each player would bring a strong return and the Cubs could replace them with what is on the roster. Don’t be mistaken. Each player would be a huge loss. However, in order to trade for a talented player, you have to give up talent.