Cameron Maybin Is Rumored To Be A Trade Target Of The Chicago Cubs
Cameron Maybin might be leaving the Detroit Tigers soon, and Evan Woodbury of MLive.com believes he could be a Chicago Cub by the start of next week. While the NL Central frontrunners have mostly been talked about when it comes to relievers, the writer said The Athletic reported the team is also looking for outfield help — and Maybin could fit what they are looking for.
Woodberry pointed out that Maybin is a free agent after this season. That means he would be a short-term pickup.
Because the trade deadline is August 31 and the regular season ends on September 27, it would be a shorter-term acquisition than most other years.
Because of the “rental” player nature of a potential deal, it’s thought the club wouldn’t have to offer up more than a small amount of cash, “future considerations” or a very low-level prospect to be named later.
Maybin is one of a number of veteran players on the Tigers who arrived in 2020 on one-year contracts. That means they could be quite active in the days leading up to the deadline. As the writer pointed out, the holdup for any trades could simply be the uncertain markets created by a shorter 2020 than usual. There are also going to be more playoff teams than previous years. That means there are going to be more teams who are uncertain whether they will be buyers or sellers.
The Tigers were just 15-16 entering play on Saturday, but with eight teams from the American League going to the playoffs, they are just 1.5 games out of a postseason spot.
The MLive author does not believe Maybin is someone the Tigers would hold onto because they believe they are going to compete, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Because of the uncertainty over who is and isn’t playing past the end of September, if the Cubs don’t make an offer that is attractive enough, Detroit might see how long it can compete for a spot in the playoffs.
However, Woodbury also believes that of all the possible trade chips, Maybin might be the most replaceable.
The outfielder is in his 14th season in Major League Baseball. In 2020 so far, he’s slashed.256/.310/.436 while gathering just 10 hits in 39 at-bats. His showing in a recent series against the Cubs might have caught their attention. He had four base knocks in that series alone, one in which his team was able to win two of three games against the NL Central leader.
