Happy Joc Pederson Day.
It was on the Thursday after the All-Star Game, before the Cubs opened the second half of the season, that last summer’s nine-man roster purge began with their trade of Pederson to the Braves for prospect Bryce Ball.
Let The Purge 2.022 begin.
A year ago, the Cubs were just two games under .500, 8 1/2 games out of first and in third place when they started a selloff that included five former All-Stars, their top three back-end bullpen arms and, of course, three All-Star, championship core players in Anthony Rizzo, Javy Báez and Kris Bryant.
This time, they’re 22 games under .500, 14 1/2 games out of first and in fourth place as they open a three-game series in Philadelphia Friday with 70 games to play — leaving the biggest questions who’s going first and how close to the deadline do the Cubs go before trading All-Star championship-core catcher Willson Contreras.
Even as the clock ticked inside the final three weeks before the deadline, Contreras said the looming deadline still was not weighing on his mind.
Not that it’s something he wants.
MLB
“It’s something that I’m not worried about,” he said.
Besides, he’s already cleared the one, big hurdle that was close to his heart this month — avoiding a pre-All-Star trade and assuring he would represent Chicago in a Cubs uniform at least one more, third time. And alongside his brother William of the Braves, no less.
Beyond that, Contreras said he hasn’t spent a lot of time wondering how close to the deadline the Cubs might wait to leverage the market for what might be the top hitter on the market this side of a Juan Soto lottery-ticket blockbuster.
“They’re probably waiting for the right time, to hear offers from other teams to see if they’re getting good offers to make trades or not,” said Contreras, who says he still hasn’t heard any indication the team is considering a last-minute extension offer.
If anything, he keeps that possibility in mind when he considers when and where he might end up.
“That’s part of the business. You have a great guy; you have a good team, and you have a guy that everybody loves, right?” he said. “But you’re going to wait to see, ‘what type of offers do I get from other teams, and if it doesn’t make sense I’ll keep my guy.’
“That’s how I see it. I don’t know if I’m right or wrong. I’m putting myself in their shoes.”
Maybe.
On the other hand, if the Cubs don’t plan to make a serious push for a contract extension (and the ship appears to have long sailed on that), then this is the club’s only shot at getting significant value for Contreras before losing him to free agency.
“Probably,” he said with a laugh.
If the Cubs plan to contend again in the next two or three years, it remains inexplicable that they haven’t been aggressive enough to get a significant five- or six-year deal done with the best-hitting, athletic, strong-armed catcher in the game — during a universal-DH era that already has allowed him to play more often and pump up his offensive numbers.
Instead, they’re marking Joc Pederson Day with the final days of the Willson Contreras Trade Watch.
“I’m not really putting my mind into how much time I have before the trade deadline. I’m just trying to enjoy this ballclub as much as I can,” he said.
“I’m really good with it. I’m really settled. I’m really at peace with everything”
This week’s Trade Chip Power Rankings:
1. Willson Contreras (last week: 2) — Might Soto’s availability on the trade market drive Contreras’ market?
Consider that Soto, 23, will take a boatload of top prospects from a team with its eye on signing the young superstar to a long-term contract somewhere north of the 15-year, $440 million extension offer he reportedly turned down from the Nationals.
For any of several teams trying to win now and staring hard at that temptation, the versatile, hard-hitting Contreras might start looking even more desirable at a strong-but-sane cost. Just one way to look at the potential impact.
2. Marcus Stroman (last week: 3) — Don’t sleep on the likelihood enough teams will wade into the $23-million-a-year end of the starting pitching pool to stir a strong enough market for the Cubs to deal last winter’s big pitching free agent — even barely two workload-limited starts back from an injured-list stint (shoulder).
The growth this year of homegrown pitchers Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele only add to the intrigue for a rebuilding Cubs team starting to see projectable depth from its young big-leaguers and upper-minors prospects.
3. Ian Happ (last week: 1) — Happ falls two spots through no fault of his own, especially after coming off the bench and drawing a walk in his first All-Star game Tuesday.
While his value remains high — and his availability obvious — there remains just enough intrigue in his value as a veteran building block going forward to suggest the Cubs could make the reasonable pivot toward extension talks, if not a can-kicking move to make that call over the winter.
RELATED: Happ's emotional swing: Non-tender candidate to All-Star
4. David Robertson (last week: 4) — Two scoreless innings Saturday in an extra-inning loss to the Mets and a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 13th save Sunday as the Cubs snapped a nine-game losing streak keep Robertson in the mix to win the Joc Pederson Award as the first Cub traded this month.
His 1.93 ERA and 0.991 WHIP make him not only a favorite for Comeback Player of the Year in the league this year but also one of the top bullpen pieces on the market.
5. Mychal Givens (last week: 5) — Did someone say top bullpen pieces?
The hard-throwing Givens put on a power showcase against the Padres, Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Brewers, Dodgers and Mets over the past month (no earned runs allowed).