Linked to major free agents this offseason like Jon Lester and Russell Martin, the Chicago Cubs are expected to make a big splash this winter in one way or another. Signing free agents is surely a way to improve the team quickly, but teams can also do that via trade.
Even though it’s hard to know which rumors to listen to, the Cubs have already been linked to trade scenarios involving Cole Hamels and Jordan Zimmermann (although the Zimmermann report was later discredited).
There are plenty of other trade possibilities out there for the North Siders to pull off before the offseason fun is over. These three trades in particular would make the Cubs considerably better without sacrificing the vision president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer have worked over the last three years to create.