The Cubs went a long way toward solidifying their newly-minted status as a genuine contender by picking up Astros and former Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler. Fowler is a switch-hitter who plays solid defense and, most of all, hits for a decent average and gets on base, in short, a prototypical leadoff hitter.
Fowler, along with his Colorado replacement, Blackmon, has been thought of as a strictly Coors Field type player, good at home, worthless on the road, but Fowler proved his critics mistaken by having a good year with Houston. Both these guys were on the block this off-season, but I think the Cubs picked the right one to acquire in Fowler.
In exchange, the Cubs gave up a marginal fifth starter candidate in Dan Straily and the consistently over-rated Luis Valbuena. I've been ranting on for several years about Valbuena's shortcomings, so I am glad to see him out of the mix once and for all.
This move more or less solidifies the outfield with Soler starting in right and Coghlan and Denorfia sharing left field, and possibly throwing Olt into the mix. I'm assuming that short of Alcantara moving into a kind of super-sub role, it also means the end of the experiment of his being groomed as an outfielder.
What the trade does do - assuming Bryant is the player everyone thinks he is and that he takes over third base pretty early in the year - is leave the Cubs with quite a logjam in the middle infield. Castro, Baez, Alcantara, and La Stella, plus super-prospect Addison Russell, could all conceivably be everyday players at second base and/or shortstop.
So, down the road, one or more of these guys is going to be traded. Potentially, the Cubs could throw in Castillo and make a big play for another front-line pitcher like Hamels if they were of a mind to do so.
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