Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs Predicted to Move Slugging Outfield Prospect at 2025 Trade Deadline

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joel Reuter | Last updated May 2, 2025 6:30 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs have emerged as early favorites in the NL Central during a strong start to the 2025 season, and barring a collapse in the coming weeks, they will almost certainly be buyers leading up to this year's trade deadline.

With a locked-in starting outfield of Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ian Happ, there is no clear path to playing time for top prospect Owen Caissie as he is once again off to a strong start at the Triple-A level, and that makes him an obvious candidate to be the centerpiece of a July blockbuster.

Caissie, 22, spent the entire 2024 campaign at Triple-A Iowa, posting an .848 OPS with 29 doubles, 19 home runs, and 75 RBI in 127 games.

That performance earned him the No. 60 spot on Baseball America's Top 100 prospect list to begin the 2025 season, and he is making an impact at the plate once again with an .862 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in 19 games to start the year.

With ace Justin Steele out for the year after undergoing elbow surgery, the Cubs could find themselves in the market for rotation help by the time the deadline rolls around, especially if Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea regress from better-than-expected starts.

Sandy Alcántara (Miami Marlins), Tyler Anderson ( Los Angeles Angels), Chris Bassitt (Toronto Blue Jays), Andrew Heaney (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Pablo López (Minnesota Twins) are among the speculative trade candidates that could become available on the pitching market this summer, though it might take a young, controllable arm for the Cubs to consider moving Caissie.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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