(Audacy) Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was a rookie in 2016, when the franchise snapped its 108-year World Series championship drought.
Six summers later, it feels like Contreras' days on the North Side might be waning. With Contreras scheduled to become a free agent after the 2022 season, contract extension talks haven't progressed much, if at all.
Rather than let Contreras walk in free agency this offseason, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will likely trade him to a contending team prior to the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
After Contreras makes his third career All-Star appearance later in July, expect his trade market to intensify. Here are five teams that could be potential fits for Contreras via trade.
Tampa Bay Rays
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today SportsDon't look now, but the Rays have leapfrogged the Toronto Blue Jays and tied the Boston Red Sox for the top wild-card spot in the American League. Perhaps the Rays will be content to stick with Francisco Mejía and wait for Mike Zunino to return from the injured list, but at least from an offensive standpoint, Contreras would be a massive upgrade over what Tampa Bay has gotten from its catchers so far in 2022. He could also get some at-bats at DH for the Rays, who are certainly a team for which Contreras would be viewed as a rental.
San Francisco Giants
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today SportsThe Giants aren't on a 107-win pace again like last year, but they're still in the National League wild-card race, even if a repeat as division champions seems unlikely. Future Hall of Famer Buster Posey retired after a magical 2021 season, and former top prospect Joey Bart hasn't fulfilled his potential to this point. With Curt Casali now dealing with an oblique strain, the Giants feel like a team that would be an obvious fit for Contreras. If a deal gets done, it would mark the second consecutive year that the Giants and Cubs collaborated on a trade deadline deal, with former NL MVP Kris Bryant going from Chicago to San Francisco last July.
Cleveland Guardians
Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesEven with the fourth-lowest payroll in baseball, the Guardians have hung around in the AL Central race, thanks in large part to All-Star-caliber seasons from José Ramírez and Andrés Giménez. At 40-40, the Guardians may wait a couple weeks before deciding whether their current roster is worth making a major addition to. But if they're going to add before the deadline, it's hard to overstate how much of an upgrade Contreras would be over Austin Hedges, Luke Maile and Sandy Leon.
New York Mets
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today SportsLike his former Cubs teammate Javier Báez was a year ago, Contreras would likely just be a rental with the Mets. Make no mistake, the Mets need to upgrade from the duo of Tomás Nido and James McCann, and Contreras would give them that. Contreras would also join an NL East race in which the Mets are trying to hold off the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, who happen to employ his younger brother, William Contreras.
Houston Astros
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today SportsThe Astros are an unlikely fit for Contreras, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic previously reported, because the team is so high on how Martín Maldonado handles their pitching staff. Still, Maldonado is 35 and is slashing just .147/.222/.293 in 2022. It would seem naive to altogether rule the Astros out from at least seeing what it would cost to land Contreras.
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