The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs as trade partners?
Considering his age (34) and amount of money left on his contract (three-years/$59 million), the Chicago Cubs likely won’t have very many avenues to explore when it comes to an offseason trade, but like the Padres, there are a few other teams that are reportedly ready to be aggressive this winter.
The New York Mets could be another one of those teams. New York quickly went after James McCann instead of waiting around for J.T. Realmuto, and leadership has been open about the idea of looking more into the trade market versus signing multiple big name free agents.
Trevor Bauer is certainly a target, but the Mets are one of two teams seen as finalists for George Springer. If New York spends big on Springer, a deal with the Chicago Cubs for Darvish solidifies their rotation
New York doesn’t have the deep farm system to deal from, but they do have a number of major league-ready middle infield and outfield pieces with multiple years of control who they could deal, which would help in keeping Chicago competitive while they turn over their roster, and possibly ease the sting a bit that will come with dealing their star pitcher.
From New York’s perspective, a rotation of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Strom, Darvish, and Noah Syndergaard (at some point) would go a long way in completely overhauling a franchise in need of smart decision making and competent leadership giving the fanbase a watchable product.