By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs will be looking to upgrade the team during the winter meetings. Teams have called asking about outfielder Kyle Schwarber. The Cubs are not willing to trade him.
Schwarber will be entering his 5th Major League Baseball season, all with the Chicago Cubs. He played in 137 games for the Cubs last year, a career high. In those games, Schwarber hit .238 with 26 home runs and 61 RBI’s. His batting average was his highest total since he hit .246 his rookie year. The 26 home runs and 61 RBI’s are career highs. He was valuable to the offense because Schwarber can move his teammates around the base paths to score which will increase the Cubs’ lead.
Schwarber was the starting left fielder for Chicago. He was reliable for Chicago because he could catch the baseball. Schwarber rarely overplayed a baseball and didn’t drop it. He made 1 error all of last year. Opponents had to be careful running on Schwarber. If they thought they could move up a base, that was the wrong decision. Schwarber’s arm was able to catch them from moving up with a total of 11 outfield assists.
Chicago doesn’t want to part with Schwarber. His offensive and defensive skills are difficult to replace. If they made a trade, it wouldn’t mean they would receive a player back who can play the outfield like Schwarber.
The Cubs will look to improve the team. According to nbcsports.com, Theo Epstein, President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs said, “We’re certainly open and active in trade talks with a lot of deals that usually don’t come to fruition. So, we may make some trades. We could make big ones that transform the roster. We may make smaller complementary ones. But there’s certain things we’d like to accomplish.”
Chicago hopes whatever move they make this offseason will help them win not only the division, but make a deep playoff run. They will take their time adding a player who increases their chances of a World Series title.
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