Under Jed Hoyer, the Chicago Cubs have been among the most risk-averse teams in Major League Baseball, consistently playing it safe and focusing on incremental improvements around the margins. Last winter, we saw the front office deviate from that in a major way for the first time, trading rising prospect and a package of talent to the Houston Astros for one year of Kyle Tucker.
With Tucker still searching for a new home on the free-agent market, Hoyer struck a high-risk, high-reward trade this week with the Marlins, acquiring oft-injured right-hander Edward Cabrera and sending top prospect Owen Caissie and fellow minor leagues Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon to Miami.