The Chicago Cubs have been in trade talks with the San Diego Padres, primarily about starting pitcher Tyson Ross. Rumors indicated the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers were also interested in Ross, but they all made big pitching acquisitions on Wednesday and Thursday.
Are the Cubs now in control of the Ross sweepstakes?
While Jon Heyman of CBS Sports said the Houston Astros "may be at the forefront" of the trade discussions, he also mentions the Cubs are still involved. The Padres are in need of a shortstop, so could Starlin Castro be part of the deal?
Other clubs say #Cubs aggressively trying to include Starlin Castro in any deal. It was interesting that Addison Russell played SS yesterday
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 30, 2015
Heyman provides more insight regarding Cubs' discussions with San Diego.
"The Cubs are talking to the Padres about Ross and Andrew Cashner, with Ross believed to be the preferred option," Heyman added earlier today in his latest edition of Inside Baseball. "San Diego has interest in Javier Baez, and the deal could be expanded to be much bigger."
Rumors suggest the Cubs have been dangling Castro and Baez in trade talks, so it's possible either one of them goes to San Diego in a deal before Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal also noted the Padres are "progressing on multiple deals" and "Ross is a key piece."
Heyman said the Cubs aren't favored for Ross, but that was before David Price was traded to Toronto and the Dodgers struck a big three-team deal that landed them Alex Wood from the Atlanta Braves and Mat Latos from the Miami Marlins. Additionally, it was said the Pads are reluctant to trade James Shields within the division, so it's likely they have the same philosophy with Ross. As for the Rangers, they traded away three of their top five prospects for Cole Hamels, so it's wouldn't seem as if they have the ammo to make a deal for Ross.
As of right now it appears Chicago's main competition is Houston, who also possess the resources to get a deal done with the Padres. The Astros reportedly offered a better package of prospects to the Phillies for Hamels, but the left-hander exercised his no-trade rights and rejected a deal there, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports noted on the Baseball Tonight Podcast.
The big deals for Hamels and Price now shift the attention on the trade market to the Padres.
Seems like San Diego's front office will be the center of the baseball universe for the next 26 hours, as their conversations play out.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 30, 2015
"I think Ross is the only guy the Cubs are interested in," Nightengale added. "The Cubs aren't going to trade any prized prospects except for a guy like Ross."
The Padres need to make up for all of the lost prospects they moved in the offseason and the Cubs have enough talent in their farm system to intrigue Pads' general manager A.J. Preller.
At this point it looks like Cubs and Astros could be in a bidding war for Ross, so we'll see who comes out on top.
