Remember when rumors found the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays were discussing trades involving a number of well-known players? Those talks have exited the spotlight in recent weeks, but Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer says the two MLB clubs could make for a good match at some point.
Chicago is looking for starting pitching. Back in early December it was reported the two teams were discussing a trade and the Rays were targeting infielder Javier Baez while the Cubs may have been inquiring about starter Alex Cobb. Other reports and rumors found the Rays were also open to trading starters Matt Moore, Drew Smyly and Jake Odorizzi as well as relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger.
Whatever the scenario, these two teams possess what the other needs. Chicago has plentiful young position players/prospects while Tampa Bay has a surplus of pitching in both the starting rotation and bullpen. Might the two sides work out a trade before the 2016 season, or at least before the non-waiver trade deadline?
"I talk to [Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman] quite a bit," Hoyer told MLB Network Radio on Friday. "There are probably a handful of teams in baseball that you look at and say to yourself, 'that's a really good match.' It doesn't necessarily mean a deal is going to come together right away ... but I do think we have potential matches with Tampa. We'll keep on talking and maybe they are a team that at some point down the road something makes sense, but there's certainly nothing imminent right now."
Just because a deal makes sense at a glance doesn't mean it's going to happen. Hoyer alluded to the rumors from the past two years or so that suggested the Cubs and Mets were a perfect match for a trade since New York possessed a lot of attractive starting pitching and Chicago had an excess of middle infielders. That was another apparent sensible scenario for both teams to trade from their strengths to address a weakness, but a deal never went down.
For one thing, the Cubs and Rays are two MLB clubs that do their homework when considering trades. Neither is particularly hasty in making deals, and if they are, they're typically confident of the return they're getting.
Tampa was apparently interested in Baez, who can help them at a number of positions, and the Cubs would like to get their hands on a cost-controlled starter since they're expected to see some turnover in that unit over the next few seasons. A match is definitely there, but neither team is in a rush since both of their rosters are (on paper) set for 2016.
Hoyer also mentioned there's "still some trade talk going on" because the free agent market has been relatively slow to develop. That's a potential indicator that something may happen between these two teams before Opening Day, but only time will tell.
