The Chicago Cubs as we've known them over the past few seasons could look very different very soon. Over the past few years, the Cubs have already changed ownership regimes, and subsequently, managements, and now it appears that an overhaul of the Major League roster is coming, as well. According to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, the team is planning to commit to a full rebuild:
After speaking with several baseball sources over the past few days I am hearing that a complete and total rebuild of the Cubs is more likely than ever to take place during the remainder of the off-season.
While this news isn't necessarily a huge surprise, the Cubs' direction under new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein hasn't really been totally established yet. Kaplan confirms that the team is going to trade Sean Marshall to the Cincinnati Reds for a three-player package based around Travis Wood, but the Cubs have also spent some money this offseason to acquire outfielder David DeJesus and third baseman Ian Stewart.
Those acquisitions have only costed limited money, though, so it appears that the team is moving forward with a rebuilding effort. While the team is likely to keep prized young shortstop Starlin Castro, older players like Matt Garza, Marlon Byrd, Carlos Marmol, Geovany Soto, Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Samardzija could be considered trade candidates at this point. Obviously the degrees of interest in each of these players will vary widely, as Garza will likely command major interest but players like Soriano and Zambrano could see few, if any, suitors.
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