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The Chicago Cubs are officially open for business.
The team began their highly anticipated fire sale Thursday by distributing outfielder Joc Pederson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for first baseman hope Bryce Ball, the team announced.
The move ends the Pederson Cubs tenure after less than a year with the team. Pederson signed with the Cubs last offseason for a one-year, $ 7 million contract after spending his entire career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 73 games with the Cubs, Pederson has reached 0.230 / 0.300 / 0.418 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs. He will now head to a Braves team with a gaping hole in right field after star Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending ACL tear.
Pederson is obviously not Acuña, but the Braves will take any help they can get in an attempt to stay in the playoff contention. The team is currently 44-45, four games away from the New York Mets, who won first place in the NL East.
In exchange for Pederson, the Cubs receive Atlanta’s No.12 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. A 24th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, Ball has an average bat and above-average power, with questions about his defense and if his power can translate to higher levels.
Who else will the Cubs trade?
The Cubs are now five years away from their cathartic 2016 World Series championship, and the trade deadline sale is fundamentally inevitable at this point. The team are eight games away from first place in the center of the National League, mainly thanks to an 11-game losing streak shortly before the all-star break.
When it comes to possible business candidates, Pederson was a given for the Cubs. He’s a player with a one-year contract with no significant history with the club and clear limits for his future (the Dodgers used him as a pack bat against the righties, we’ll see how the Braves treat him).
Who else could the Cubs send? It depends on their attachment to their World Series winning core.
A potential Kris Bryant trade has come up all season, to the point where the former MVP was asked about it live during the All-Star Game. Bryant is a free agent after this season, and his power and defensive flexibility (he’s played every field position as well as first and third this season) should make him appealing to virtually any team contending.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Javier Baez are also free agents after this season, and could be on the verge of disappearing if a team is prepared to respect the Cubs’ price tag. Other big business candidates include closest Craig Kimbrel, starting pitcher Zach Davies and set-up man Andrew Chafin.
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