Tampa Bay Rays Make Shocking Blockbuster Trade with Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs, who are in last place in the National League Central, just pulled off a shocking trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes (17) in action during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs pulled off a shocking trade on Sunday afternoon, with the Rays trading away All-Star Isaac Paredes to Chicago for Christopher Morel and two prospects.

Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic' had the return on social media:

Rays acquiring prospects Ty Johnson and Hunter Biggee along with Christopher Morel from Rays for Isaac Paredes, sources tell me and @TylerKepner

Rays acquiring prospects Ty Johnson and Hunter Biggee along with Christopher Morel from Rays for Isaac Paredes, sources tell me and @TylerKepner.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2024

The deal is shocking on multiple fronts: First, the Rays are over .500 and are trading anything not nailed to the floor. They've dealt Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Jason Adam and Paredes in the matter of three days, despite having team control over each player for additional seasons beyond this one.

Paredes was an All-Star this year and was under control through 2027. He is hitting .247 with 16 homers and will now help the Cubs for multiple seasons.

The deal was also shocking considering that the Cubs are in last place in the National League Central and typically you don't see last place teams go ahead and buy.

As for Morel, the 25-year-old brings a fascinating skillset to Tampa Bay. Hitting just .199, he strikes out a ton, but also flashes great power. He's got 18 home runs and is also under team control for several seasons (through 2028). Perhaps the Rays can bring some more contact ability to his game.

Bigge is the No. 29 prospect in the Cubs organization, at last check from MLB.com. The following comes from his MLB.com prospect profile:

Bigge has added 3-4 mph to his fastball in the last year and now operates at 97-98 mph and hits 100 mph, and his heater's combination of low release height and carry make it even tougher to hit. His upper-80s cutter reaches 91 mph and generated a 70 percent swing-and-miss rate in Triple-A this year. He also has a pair of breaking pitches, using a mid-80s slider with sweep against righties and a low-80s curveball with more depth against lefties.

He made four appearances for the Cubs this year, striking out five in 3.1 innings.

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