It’s the start of the summer solstice, so it’s getting hot. OK…not that kind of “hot”, but…well, I admit it — the pic is just a gratuitous photo to get your attention.
But it is June 21, and the Chicago Cubs sit seven games behind the division leading Cardinals, in third place at 31-38. It’s no longer early, and it’s no longer too soon to panic.
Now before we get caught up in unrealistic proposals here, let me start by saying that Alfonso Soriano is going nowhere. As much as the Cubs would almost certainly love to dispose of the remainder of that $136 million contract, it’s not even worth talking about.
Likewise, nobody wants Aramis Ramirez, who makes a lot of money, gets hurt every year and is off to his worst start ever.
Even someone like Carlos Silva, who is enjoying an almost astounding revival with the Cubs, is probably too rich for most teams blood, especially teams that don’t believe he can sustain this pace.
Meanwhile, forget about guys like Chad Tracy, Mike Fontenot and the like. They don’t make enough money nor would they garner enough in return to be of interest.
So that leaves, in my estimation, five players who might be of interest should they be made available on the trade market to contending teams. Let’s take a look at each player and where they might be headed.