By: Ryan Bode

5/13/2014
As baseball comes into full swing, its time to start thinking about which pieces on the squad are on the
market. There are many advantages for trading, from freeing up some money to play with in the off-
season to getting that coveted prospect from another team for an aging player. The team that will be
focused on is the Chicago Cubs. Under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, the Cubs have perfected trading off
players and getting massive upside. One example is the Rizzo for Cashner trade. Last year, it was Scott
Feldman and Soriano being traded off for younger talent and draft picks. This year, there are a few
prime candidates that can suffer the same fate as Feldman and Rizzo while the Cubs receive a massive
upside in return.
3 Players To Start Thinking About:
CF-2B Emilio Bonifacio
Bonafacio signed a minor league deal with a spring training
invitation with the Chicago Cubs during the off-season. He
made the roster on March 30
th
and has not looked back. As a
center fielder, he has had a solid glove. His speed is key,
getting good jumps on the balls quickly and closing the gap. He
has only made one error in center field while posting .976
fielding percentage. In addition to this, he plays almost all the
infield positions. I compare to a Mark De Rosa type of player
but much better at hitting. His speed makes him a threat on
the base paths already, swiping eleven bases while only getting
caught three times. Also, he can score from first base as well,
which could make a difference late in a game for a competing team. As a batter, he is currently hitting
.312. With this average and his speed potential, he isnt just an idle threat, he is a volatile threat.
His contract is prime for a team to trade for, while the Cubs can ask for a couple good young talent in
return due to Bonifacio producing stellar stats for just being under a minor league contract.
SP Jeff Samardzija
With an expiring contract, Garza comments hinting
Samardzija getting upset at the Cubs, and the refusal to
talk contract extension, Samardzija has the best chance
of all the Cubs players to get moved before the deadline.
He is posting a 1.45 ERA, which is second lowest in the
MLB. In addition to this, a stat that sticks out to any GM
is the Homeruns per nine innings. His currently sits at .3,
a career best for him, which means that the ball stays in
the park, cutting down on runs that are given up by him. At age 29 as well, he doesnt fit into the
picture for the Cubs as Hoyer(Cubs GM) and Epstein(Cubs President) try to build a team for the future.
Samardzija is hungry for a World Series and could be traded to a contending team while in return the
Cubs could again get a top prospect.

The contract may scare some teams, but the teams with big budgets like Yankees, who are in need of
another starter due to Sabathias recent struggles, could be takers for Samardzija.
SP Jason Hammel

This is the same situation that the Cubs did
with Scott Feldman last year. They signed a
sub-par pitcher who they hope can get hot
in the first half of the season so that they
can trade him off to get prospects in return.
The Cubs hit the gold mine with Hammels,
pitching to a 4-1 record with a ERA sitting at
2.45. These are stats that even Feldman
did not put up in his first month and a half
with the Cubs, and look what the Cubs got
for Feldman (Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop).
These two players that the Cubs got have
been solid, especially Strop. Imagine if
Hammels keeps pitching to this degree, the Cubs could land a couple top prospects or even some young
talent already in the MLB(ie: Eric Hosmer from the Royals, Taijuan Walker from the Mariners).
The contract with Hammels will be a big issue though. He is set to make a salary of six million dollars
this year. At the age of 31 and making this kind of money, he will be a tough sell unless he puts up
numbers like he has been.
Trades are the name of the game for the Chicago Cubs. Trade away the old, aging talent to bring in
prospects for the future. These three players could turn out to be huge trade pieces before the deadline
and could be strategic in bringing in some hot, young talent that could improve the Cubs drastically.
All stats in this article are provided by ESPN.com and Baseballreference.com and are up to the date of
5/13/2014.