Free agency isn’t the only way to acquire baseball players for your team. This, you obviously know. So, let’s talk about some guys the Cubs could trade for this offseason.
The reason I bring up Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez is that his team did some serious housecleaning last winter, trading away Francisco Lindor. Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger and Adam Cimber. At one point last offseason they looked like they were headed for a $40 million payroll (and eventually, per Spotrac, they wound up at only $50 million). Ramirez is the only Cleveland player signed for 2022 on a multi-year deal, and even if you add up potential arbitration awards, that only totals $37.