Cubs Executive Says They'll Trade Prospects to Acquire Stars

The Chicago Cubs have a loaded farm system, but are looking to win immediately. Their executive says they could trade some of these prospects to get Major League talent.

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of decisions to make this offseason.

They have built a tremendous farm system by selling off their assets at past trade deadlines when they knew they had no chance to make the playoffs.

The Cubs have been able to develop these prospects in their pipeline, turning them into coveted players and impactful ones when they get their Major League call-up.

While all that is very exciting for the future of the franchise, Chicago is also looking to win right now and make the postseason.

Are these players ready to become impact pieces right away for the Cubs or will they have to move them to get star Major League talent?

According to executive Jed Hoyer, they're going to look at trades for these prospects.

"Of course there will be players in our system that will be used in trade to acquire other major leaguers," he told Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

Which prospects could be on the trading block is unknown and will depend on the circumstances.

But it's quite a statement from Hoyer heading into this important offseason.

Even though some of these players could be moved, the President of Baseball Operations isn't willing to mortgage their entire pipeline to create a super team.

"When you get to a place where you don’t have prospects and you don’t have available dollars, you’re stuck. We’re in a place right now where our books are clean long-term (and) certainly, we do have young players. I think the organizational health is really strong," Hoyer said.

Hoyer is an accomplished executive, winning the World Series with Chicago in 2016.

He knows how important young pieces are to a successful organization.

"I don’t want to just think about those young players as the potential to go acquire other older major leaguers," he said.

So, while it seems like the Cubs will be aggressive and leverage their strong pipeline to fill holes on their Major League roster, it doesn't look like Hoyer will push all of his chips to the center of the table.

They'll still hold onto some of their best prospects in the minor leagues.