Losing 13 of 15 heading into the MLB All-Star break is never a good sign of any team. For the Chicago Cubs, it took them from possibly buying at the MLB Trade Deadline to certain sellers. Joc Pederson has already been traded and more moves are expected to come.
Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel are the two names most being discussed, but Javy Baez and Anthony Rizzo are set to be free agents at the end of the year two. Now, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, it sounds as though the Cubs will try to work on extensions for both players.
while Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel and other Cubs are on the block, there are signs the Cubs will try to lock up Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo before talking trades for them @MLBNetwork
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 16, 2021
It doesn't completely rule out either Baez or Rizzo being traded by the Cubs but, it's a sign in the right direction for those that didn't want the entire core to be sent off in trades.
What's hard to figure out is what exactly the plan is for the Cubs moving forward. They traded Yu Darvish before the year started to get off a lot of his contract and it was a move that signaled clearly that the front office wasn't willing to invest for this year. Then they opted not to resign Kyle Schwarber who has torn the ball off the cover for the Nationals this year before a recent injury.
Now, they have their three best players in Bryant, Rizzo and Baez playing this year without assurance of an extension. So while the news from Heyman of them trying to work extensions for two of the three is positive news, there's still no real blueprint for the Cubs moving forward.
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