Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal questioned the Chicago Cubs’ rationale for not trading catcher Wilson Contreras on the deadline.
The MLB trade deadline passed, and most of the names that were expected to be dealt with were eventually. When it came to the Chicago Cubs, the team shockingly chose against commercial catcher Wilson Contreras and quarterback Ian Hap. Contreras was most surprising, considering he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.
While speaking to MLB on FOX, Athletic Cubs’ Ken Rosenthal questioned, loudly, if the team felt they were going to have a hard time trading the Contreras, why didn’t they start trying to do it off last season instead of on deadline?
You can listen to Rosenthal’s full comments below, courtesy of FOX Sports: MLB Twitter account.
Ken Rosenthal asks Cubs not to try to trade with Wilson Contreras sooner
Rosenthal says the reason Contreras stayed was because the Cubs hadn’t received an offer from the teams they were in.
Besides talking about the Cubs, Rosenthal stated that this could raise problems for Contreras as a free agent, citing questions about his defense and being the number one bat man. After that, he mentioned that the team would likely put forward a qualifying offer to Contreras, which could limit his market. With the qualifying bid, any team that signs Contreras will have to give the Cubs an initial selection.
Rather than tackle Contreras, the big catcher to be traded at the deadline was Cristian Vazquez, who is also set to be a free agent after this season. The Boston Red Sox traded him with the Houston Astros in exchange for two prospects.
Contreras will be a name that should keep an eye on this off-season, especially to see if he chooses to re-sign with the Cubs or test free agency with or without a qualifying offer put on him.
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