A Cubs-Astros trade that brings two All-Stars to Wrigley Field

2024 has already seen the fall off of the once-dominant Houston Astros. Their fall from grace has not come without the media being quick to speculate that they begin selling before the trade deadline.

2024 has also seen the Chicago Cubs exceeding expectations, putting themselves in a good spot to buy before the trade deadline.

With a perfect match made in heaven, these two teams could absolutely be doing business in the near future and the deal may be a bigger one than anybody is anticipating.

A Cubs-Astros deal that could change the outlook of the NL Central

The Astros have been unable to ink All-Star Alex Bregman to a long-term deal. He is currently set to enter free agency at the conclusion of the season. With the state of the current Astros, Bregman won't be eager to re-sign with the franchise either.

Ryan Pressly has a mutual option of $14 million at the end of the season. The reliever will likely agree to this option, but Houston may not be so eager, which leaves the Astros without either of these players going into 2025.

That's where Chicago comes into play.

Pressly and Bregman would bring two veteran presences that have won and know how to win. Besides that, they're two incredibly talented baseball players who fill holes on the active Cubs roster. Both Christopher Morel and Dansby Swanson have been quite underwhelming on the left side of the Chicago infield. The Cubs' bullpen has been good, but they can always use an extra arm like Pressly.

Now Pressly and Bregman haven't played to the level that the baseball world is used to, but Chicago would be trading for the players that they know these two could be, rather than their performance thus far in 2024.

A deal like this would have to center around one of the Cubs' better prospects. In this case, the centerpiece of the trade could be the uber-talented Kevin Alcantara. It would then take a few prospects like Drew Gray and Porter Hodge to fill out the deal.

This kind of trade doesn't send Houston into a full-scale rebuild, but it definitely begins to turn their future around a bit. It also fills a few holes that the Cubs desperately need to fill without destroying their farm system.