Five young prospects the Cubs could target on the trade market

1. Gavin Lux

At this point in their extended World Series window, the Los Angeles Dodgers have to be getting desperate to finally win one and end their drought that stretches all the way back to 1988.

The Dodgers have done almost everything possible to win a title, but came up short in back-to-back trips to the Fall Classic before being bounced in the 2019 NLDS. They are already being mentioned as a strong contender to sign either Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon.

If the Dodgers fail to convince Cole or Rendon to come to LA, their only other option for a significant upgrade this offseason is on the trade market, and it figures to be a robust market. If Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant and Javy Baez are on the block, the Dodgers have to come away with at least one of them.

Andrew Friedman has been reluctant to part with his most elite prospects, preferring to deal from his mid-range names that may be more highly valued by other organizations. Nearly all of the prospects Friedman moved to acquire players like Manny Machado, Rich Hill and Yu Darvish have struggled to match their lofty rankings.

That’s not going to be possible if the Dodgers are going to make a deal with the Cubs for one of their stars. A trade will have to start with either shortstop Gavin Lux or flamethrower Dustin May.

Lux is one of the most exciting young players in baseball and hit .347/.421/.607 with 26 home runs and 76 RBI in 113 games in the minor leagues before being called up in September. The Dodgers have other interesting names like Alex Verdugo, Will Smith and Kiebert Ruiz, but Lux has to be Chicago’s top choice to target in any big trade. He could form a dynamic partnership up the middle in Chicago with Nico Hoerner.