David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Cubs are in a complete rebuilding stage, which means management is forced to make a few tough decisions when it comes to player personnel. For example, the Cubs have been negotiating with Jeff Samardzija on a long-term deal for quite some time, but the results have not been good as no mutual agreement has been reached between the two parties.
With that being said, Samardzija is entering the last year of his contract, which means Chicago might be looking to flip him in a trade sooner rather than later. MLB teams normally try to bolster their rotations via free agency this time of year, but the Arizona Diamondbacks might be looking on the trade block for some starting pitching. At 28 years old, Samardzija is considerably younger than most free agent arms, which makes him even more enticing.
On the Cubs’ side of things; Arizona is seemingly a perfect trade partner for Chicago.
Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has talked about his organization’s lack of young pitching, and that’s something the Diamondbacks have plenty of. For instance, youngsters like Tyler Skaggs and David Holmberg are two of Arizona’s top pitching prospects and both could be had for the correct price. Of course, it will likely take more than just Samardzija for Skaggs and Holmberg, yet Cubs reliever James Russell could very well be in a deal to Arizona as well.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
