Cubs: Could Ian Happ or Eloy Jimenez be this year's Gleyber Torres at trade deadline?

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MESA, Ariz. — An agent sort of joked that this is where every big-leaguer wants to play — and no minor-league prospect wants to be. Of course, that is an oversimplification, but it sums up life around the Cubs, where the World Series champs are treated like kings and it can be difficult for the kids to see the path to Wrigley Field.

With no obvious blue-chip pitching prospects in the upper levels of the farm system yet — and Jake Arrieta and John Lackey positioned to become free agents after this season and the fifth-starter job up for grabs this spring — the Cubs are hoping for someone to take a big step forward.

Theo Epstein's front office and Joe Maddon's coaching staff certainly have a long track record of committing to young talent and developing players at the major-league level. That open-minded philosophy will not change.

But if a frontline starting pitcher who makes sense in a pennant race and for the future suddenly becomes available — or the Cubs have to rebuild their bullpen on the fly again or respond to a different roster emergency — then Ian Happ or Eloy Jimenez could be this year's Gleyber Torres.

"You know that's the reality of our business," general manager Jed Hoyer said this week. "But you also try to develop each guy and focus on each guy as if they're definitely going to come up and impact us.

"We didn't want to trade (Gleyber). We felt like we needed to do it. But certainly the way we have to think about these guys is that they're going to have a big impact on the Cubs someday. And both guys have the right makeup to do that."

While shipping their elite shortstop prospect to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster 4-for-1 deal for rental closer Aroldis Chapman last summer, the Cubs asked themselves: If not now, when?

Chapman joined a team that had a 98.8-percent chance to make the playoffs on the Baseball Prospectus odds report and a 56-1 record when leading entering the ninth inning. It would be almost impossible to do another deal on that kind of all-or-nothing scale — the 1908 stuff is over — but the Cubs have a reputation for being bold, creative and aggressive.

"It's out of your control," Happ said. "You have to go out and try to be better every day and work hard. The team is so good. We have so many good players to learn from here. It just really motivates you to continue to improve and try to get better every day."

Happ fits a Cubs Way demographic as a polished, fast-track switch-hitter who performed at the University of Cincinnati, in the Cape Cod League and in the classroom (first-team academic All-American). The potential to play second base and shift to the outfield would also fit on a Maddon team.

Happ — the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft — has already played a half-season at Double-A Tennessee, homered from both sides of the plate in an Arizona Fall League title game and appeared on top-prospects lists for MLB.com (No. 28), Baseball Prospectus (No. 54), ESPN (No. 63) and Baseball America (No. 63).

While the 2016 Cubs experienced that unforgettable playoff run, Happ and his Mesa Solar Sox teammates would hover around an iPad in the dugout in between innings. This is the next phase for a player-development system that used to revolve around the idea of "When It Happens."

"I think this team is going to be good for a long time," Happ said. "It's nice to be part of an organization that doesn't feel like it's a one-and-done situation. It feels like they're building something here and you're going to have a chance to play for the pennant, for the World Series, for years to come. But just being able to be a part of the organization when that happened was special."

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