CHICAGO -- Last Tuesday, at the brink of MLB's trade deadline, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had a decision to make: Trade catcher Willson Contreras for what he believed was below market value, or keep him and potentially get an extra draft pick if Contreras leaves as a free agent at the end of the season.
For weeks, it had been a fait accompli that Contreras would be moved, especially after Hoyer had pulled off another deadline dump one year earlier with stars Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javy Baez.