The Chicago Cubs are widely viewed as sellers ahead of the 2022 MLB trade deadline, and perhaps the tastiest asset they have at the moment is catcher Willson Contreras. But another position player is also gaining steam in trade discussions, and that's switch-hitting Ian Happ.

Via Jeff Passan of ESPN:

“Two things have become clear in the past week as trade talks picked up: Almost everyone wants Happ, and the Cubs are likely to trade him, according to sources. It makes sense. Happ, who turns 28 next month, is in the midst of an All-Star season. He's a switch-hitter who after years of swinging far better from the left side is crushing left-handed pitchers this season, he's a well-above-average defender in left field, and he won't reach free agency until after the 2023 season.”

Happ has played for only one team so far in his MLB career. A first-round pick (ninth overall) by the Cubs in the 2015 June Amateur Draft, Happ is having quite a season. He is in the middle of his first All-Star season, with a triple slash line of .282/.367/.445 so far this 2022. His patience at the plate has greatly improved this season, with his strikeout rate down from 29.2 percent in 2021 to only 21.4% this year.

There should be definitely ample interest in Happ, whose capability of playing multiple positions in the infield and outfield, defensive acumen, and switch-hitting abilities on top of the fact that he comes with one more year of team control make him among the most intriguing trade targets ahead of the August deadline.