Chicago Cubs prospect named among most likely to be traded by deadline

The Chicago Cubs are still expected to be aggressive buyers before the MLB trade deadline on August 3.

With just about five days to go before that cutoff date, the breaking news regarding high-profile deals should start dropping anytime now. The Cubs, as everyone knows at this point, will be looking for big-time pitching help in the form of a top-of-rotation starting pitcher and some bullpen reinforcement.

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Amid the buzz over who Chicago may target and how much they’ll be willing to sacrifice, the reality is that they will have to pay a hefty price in prospect capital for the pitching they’re looking to add.

One of the most sought-after prospects in the Cubs organization is shortstop Jefferson Rojas, who is currently rated the no. 2 prospect in the Cubs system and no. 64 in all of baseball.

MLB.com has talked up the likelihood of Chicago trading the 21-year-old by the deadline twice over the last couple of days.

Jefferson Rojas expected to be dealt

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Jim Callis, in a piece about the Top 100 prospects likely to be dealt at the trade deadline, ranks Rojas no. 4 on the list of young talent that will probably be moved.

Per Callis:

“Super advanced bat. He’s only 21 years old. He struggled when he got to Double-A last year, but he’s made some adjustments. He’s driving the ball in the air again. He can just really, really hit.

And he’s a third baseman, maybe a shortstop, but he’s not gonna displace Dansby Swanson. He’s not gonna displace Alex Bregman. He’s not gonna move to second base and displace Nico Hoerner. And there’s really no place for him to play. So I think when the Cubs go out and make moves, I don’t think it’s gonna be a (Tarik) Skubal, but maybe they go get a Joe Ryan, maybe they’ll go get a Reid Detmers. I could see Jefferson Rojas being part of that package.”

A day prior, in another MLB.com article, Rojas again was mentioned as the most likely Cubs prospect to be traded:

“The injury-ravaged Cubs desperately need pitching and while they probably won’t trade their top prospect (outfielder Josiah Hartshorn), they might have to part with their second-best to get some mound help. Signed for $1 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, Rojas is hitting .269/.334/.462 with 15 homers in 86 Double-A games at age 21 and has the arm strength for the left side of the infield.”

Scouts checking things out

A recent report even says that New York Mets scouts have been all over the Cubs Double-A team, the Knoxville Smokies, presumably to get a closer look at Rojas.

With no clear path to the majors anytime soon, it sure would appear that Rojas is an expendable piece in the Cubs organization and would have more immediate big league worth as a trade chip to bring in pitching.

With the clock to the deadline ticking away, the answers to all these trade-related questions will be revealed soon enough.

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