Chicago Cubs: Two oddball trade proposals spotlight the team’s awful standing

The Chicago Cubs started this 2026 season with big expectations and even some World Series chatter. They’re now at the point where many are considering them sellers at the August 3 trade deadline.

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There’s no sugarcoating it. Things are bad. After an early part of the season which saw them put together two separate 10-game winning streaks, they are now 7-20 in their last 27 games and have fallen from first place in the NL Central Division to fourth place. If the season were to end right now, the Cubs would not qualify for postseason play.

Because of this ugly turn of events, the whole season dynamic has started to change. Once considered likely to be aggressive buyers at the deadline, they are being increasingly pegged as sellers as their season seemingly slips away.

As a result, Cubs trade proposals involving the team’s established veteran core have started to pop up all over the place. Two such trades particularly exemplify the Cubs’ dilemma in relation to their clear needs.

Swanson back to the Braves?

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The most interesting proposal comes from the Atlanta Braves blog ATL All Day.

In it, Nick Halden sees the first place Braves reacquiring struggling former Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson —and the remainder of his 7-year, $177 million dollar contract—from a Cubs team eager to move on from the struggling veteran.

In return for Swanson, the Cubs would get pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, catcher Sean Murphy, and free agency-bound infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

Oddly enough, though, the trade would have the Cubs adding more than $20 million dollars extra to their budget this season while remaining on the line for at least $38 million more between Murphy and Lopez contract obligations.

This Cubs-Braves deal doesn’t make sense for many reasons. The money is just one of them.

There’s also the addition of a catcher who would be a downgrade from current starting catcher Carson Kelly. While Kelly could end up leaving free agency at the end of this season, Chicago would be much better off—roster-wise as well as budget-wise—swinging a deal to re-sign Kelly.

The swapping of Swanson for three months of Kim in the middle infield would also be pretty pointless and, actually, a downgrade for the Cubs.

The only name that makes any sense for Chicago is Lopez, who reemerged in 2024 as a quality starter before shoulder surgery in 2025 stalled his career. So far this season, he’s been solid with a 4.06 ERA through 15 games (5 starts). He’s also under team control through next season.

Nothing else in this trade proposal touches logic for Chicago.

A ‘what if’ Happ trade proposal

And speaking of not touching logic, there’s the Cubs-Astros trade proposal from Climbing Tal’s Hill for Cubs left fielder Ian Happ.

Writer David Lesky doesn’t offer any names the Astros would give in return for the free agency-eligible Cubs veteran. And, actually, he hinges everything on a threesome of big “ifs” regarding the Astros continuing to improve, the Cubs continuing to slide, and Happ ditching his no trade clause to allow a deal to happen.

But the clear message from this particular proposal, as well as the one with the Braves, is that the Cubs are moving from contention into a place were a sell-off might be considered wise.

The month of June will probably determine Chicago’s mindset heading into the deadline.

The post Chicago Cubs: Two oddball trade proposals spotlight the team’s awful standing appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-trade-proposals-dansby-swanson-ian-happ/