The Chicago Cubs have one of baseball's best farm systems, with several Top 100 prospects performing well in the upper minors and on track to make their MLB debuts in 2025.
It's an advantage that the team should use to improve the major league roster. It's no secret that this season has been disappointing, with Chicago's .513 winning percentage essentially the same as last year's .512. So is the divisional finish - 2nd place, nine games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.
It doesn't need to be this way. Manager Craig Counsell has already expressed the desire to build a 90-win team, and there's an easy way to add an elite player to a solid Major League core: a trade.
With several top prospects ending their seasons in either Double-A Tennessee or Triple-A Iowa, it's possible to deal from the major league roster to add a top-tier talent and backfill with a prospect, an approach that saves money in salary as well.
The Atlanta Braves can be a solid trade partner here. The NL East foe has multiple players that could help this team, either in veteran catcher Travis d'Arnaud or MVP candidate Marcell Ozuna.
d'Arnaud, 35, hit .240 with a .743 OPS while sharing time with Gold Glove defender Sean Murphy behind the dish. A well-respected veteran in the game, d'Arnaud is considered to be a good defensive catcher and a steady veteran presence who also happens to have outproduced all of Chicao's various catchers this season. Cubs backstops have combined to bat just .214 with a .606 OPS in 2024 as Chicago cycled through four different players at the position.
d'Arnaud's 2025 club option would cost just $8M, a bargain to improve on the team's most glaring offensive weakness.
If the Cubs are instead looking for elite production, adding designated hitter Marcell Ozuna would be an immense offensive boost. Arguably Atlanta's most valuable contributor this season, Ozuna batted .309 with a .941 OPS and is on pace for his second consecutive 40 homer, 100 RBI season. His 2025 club option is just $16M, a $2M discount on his current $18M salary.
For a return, Chicago could deal second baseman Nico Hoerner to a Braves team that is looking to upgrade incumbent shortstop Orlando Arcia. Nico's .269 batting average would be a welcome addition to an Atlanta roster that saw Arcia bat just .217 this season (and only .161 with runners in scoring position). The speed dimension to Nico's game would be a welcome addition for the Braves, as well - Hoerner's 30 stolen bases would have led Atlanta's roster this season. Reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. led the team with 16 stolen bases before missing the rest of the season with a torn ACL, while no other player currently has more than ten.
Hoerner has two additional years of team control left at a combined $14.025M, an easy sum for Atlanta to pay and less than what is owed to Ozuna for 2025 was the option to be picked up.
With multiple infield prospects available to play second base like Matt Shaw and James Triantos, Chicago could significantly upgrade their offensive ceiling or fix their weakest offensive position without much drop-off.
