Cubs rumors: Cody Bellinger staredown, Another big international win after Shota, Stealing from White Sox
- The Cubs nabbed a player that was also offered to the White Sox.
- Shota Imanaga will rightfully earn the bigger celebration, but the Cubs have acquired more than just him in the international category
- Updates on Cody Bellinger's free agency
By Josh Wilson
Dodgers traded Michael Busch to Cubs after he was offered to White Sox
When Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes a permanent fixture on Clark and Addison, the hope will be that the Chicago Cubs have enough prospects to pull up the rankings and keep their pipeline intact and filled with great options when the big-league squad needs to go back down to backfill its major league roles.
That was undoubtedly one of the reasons why the Cubs traded two prospects to land Michael Busch in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who steps in as the No. 3 ranked prospect in Chicago's system behind PCA and Cade Horton (H/T Fan Nation).
Interestingly, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted, Busch was nearly sent to the Chicago White Sox (subscription required) rather than the North Side team in a deal that Los Angeles hoped would net them Sox pitcher Dylan Cease. Cease has been rumored to be on the trade deadline since before the Winter Meetings but has yet to find a new home because the Sox are asking a steep price in terms of prospects for his services.
Evidently, the price was too high for the Dodgers, who were ready to send at least Busch and likely many more prospects along.
End of the day, the Cubs add him to their system. He's a 26-year old infielder who bats left and throws right.