Things are heating up over Major League Baseball at the GM meetings currently taking place, and Chicago Cubs is in the midst of some rumours.
That tends to happen for an older franchise like the Cubs, especially when they made it clear they’ll be looking for ways to upgrade this roster so they can make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 after falling short every year its.
Offseason scuttlebutt will continue to fuel the Hot Stove, and with several players available on the open market in areas the front office is targeting, Chicago should be in the hunt for a few different stars.
That might not mean just opening the checkbook to spend.
The Cubs haven’t been willing to cross the luxury tax threshold and that likely won’t change this time around. To combat some potential financial shortfalls, they may want to trade some of the excess star prospects they have stockpiled in their pipeline.
One that has reportedly generated interest from around the league is Owen Caissie.
Per Jon Morosi of MLB Networkhe “is a popular name in the early stage trade at GM Meetings.”
The 22-year-old was a former second-round pick in 2020 by the San Diego Padres who was brought to Chicago that season as part of the Yu Darvish trade before he even played a minor league game.
Caissie immediately started making a name for herself by putting up solid power numbers paired with getting on base. Over his 406 career games and 1,471 at-bats, he has a .278 batting average and .470 on-base percentage.
He’s also coming off a stellar season at the Triple-A level when he slashed .278/.375/.472 with 19 homers, 51 extra-base hits and 79 RBI.
Normally, he would be a clear candidate to take the next step and be a part of this Major League roster in 2025, but since he plays in the outfield, there is no clear path to playing time with the group of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger is already pitching.
Would the Cubs really be willing to move on from their No. 2 ranked prospect?
Perhaps.
While there is no indication that they are actively looking for trade partners that would send Caissie out of town, it could be something that pushes them to the point of returning an elite starting pitcher or another power bat in exchange for the rising star.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this, but their best prospect is definitely that some team is interested this offseason.
