28 players under 28 years old

With the news that Jim Hendry, scouts, and other team officials are meeting today and Tuesday to discuss possible trades and targets for the Cubs I bring you “28 players under 28 years old.” In this post I will give you 28 players from contending and non-contending teams that could interest the Cubs. I will also label Cub players that other teams (mainly contending) have interest in which could make a potential trading match. These are also players that will make an impact next season or in the near future. Here are the 28 players in no particular order-

Billy Butler - Royals
Chris Davis - Rangers
Mark Trumbo - Angels
Alex Gordon - Royals
Lars Anderson – Red Sox
Kila Ka'aihue - Royals
James Loney - Dodgers
Justin Smoak - Mariners
Christian Yelich – Marlins
Gaby Sanchez –Marlins
Josh Bell – Orioles
David Wright – Mets
Danny Valencia – Twins
Josh Thole- Mets
Francisco Liriano – Twins
Hank Conger – Angels
Carlos Santana – Indians
Brandon Belt – Giants
Martin Perez- Rangers
Travis E. d'Arnaud - Jays
J.P. Arencibia – Jays
Derek Norris- Nationals
Gary Sanchez – Yankees
Austin Romine- Yankees
Chris Carter- A’s
Dayan Viciedo – White Sox
Matt Rizzotti- Phillies
Bobby Borchering- Dbacks

These are the 28 players under the age of 28 that could help build the Cubs for next season and/or the future. Many of these players are available for one reason or another. In the d”Arnaud and Arencibia case both are up and coming catchers in the Jays system so they could make one available via trade to address other needs which is why I put both on my list. Another example is block prospects like Lars Anderson who has been blocked by Adrian Gonzales at 1st. Players like David Wright might be dealt for financial reasons and players like Gaby Sanchez could have a young prospect like Christian Yelich knocking at his door (both on my list). The most unusual I added to the list is Brandon Belt who could be dangled to get more offensive help or catching help for a playoff run, the same could be said for Smoak, Davis, and Liriano. Even a team like the Indians and White Sox could dangle some young prized stars to get more impactful young players from the Cubs. One thing I did not include is the teams in the NL Central, I don’t believe the Cubs will deal for any young talent within their own division mainly because it is tough to do.

So over the next weeks I will be breaking down this list into 7 groups of 4. In each group I will discuss these questions-

Why is the player available?

Why would the Cubs want him?

What impact will he make on the Cubs?

What the other team could value from the Cubs?

What are the chances this could happen?

Look for my first “28 players under 28 years old” post sometime this week as we discuss the players from the Yankees and Mets.

Until Next Time..