Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Cubs aren’t done dealing this offseason as the front office will look to do whatever it takes to improve the team towards next year.
The first move was already done in the MLB Winter Meetings where Brian Bogusevic was sent to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Justin Ruggiano, but there are several moves that could be in the cards in the near future.
Jeff Samardzija has been long-rumored to be a target for several teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays or the Pittsburgh Pirates, just to name a few, but one organization that might end up climbing the ladder to trade with the Cubs is the New York Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers are having a very successful offseason signing the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, but the departure of Robinson Cano left them with a gap at second base — a position where the Cubs have a solid player that could be offloaded if the price is right.
Per reports, the Yankees are reportedly interested in Darwin Barney. Even though he wouldn’t be a nice headliner on a trade, if he’s included in a possible Jeff Samardzija move – as the Yankees are also rumored to be interested in the starter – he could sweeten the pot in terms of the possible return.
The Yankees aren’t a very good fit in terms of what the team wants in return – they only have pitching prospects in their Top 10 but they also have interesting position players like C Gary Sanchez that could help the Cubs in the upper levels of the minors.
It’s clear that a trade between both franchises seems to be a long shot, but this front office has already shown an ability to find value when trading players. If they feel there’s enough value in the Yankees’ prospects a deal might be done sooner rather than later.
Juan Pablo Aravena is a sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jparavenarant or add him to your network on Google
