The Cubs swung perhaps the most shocking trade of the summer so far today when they third Angel Chivilli Jersey baseman from the Rays in exchange for young slugger , relief prospect , and pitching prospect . Paredes, as one of the best hitters available this summer, was rumored to be of interest to a number of win-now clubs such as the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mariners, but instead ended up in Chicago with a club thats just 51-56 last year and recently saw its president of baseball operations admit the club was with its approach to this years deadline. The addition of Paredes, who is controllable through the end of the 2027 season, doesnt nece sarily go against that stated ethos. The same can be said for the clubs of Blue Jays reliever , who is controlled through the end of the 2026 campaign. It appears the Cubs may be interested in adding pieces that arent set to remain with the club long-term, however, as suggested this afternoon that the Cubs are among the teams showing interest in Giants lefty . The reigning NL Cy Young award winner got off to a rough start this year but has begun to right the ship in recent weeks, leading to suggest yesterday that teams view Snell as likely to opt out of the remainder of his contract at seasons end. That reported interest in Snell is somewhat surprising, particularly given the fact that the Cubs have seemingly been fielding interest on veteran right-hander in recent weeks. The starting rotation has been an undeniable strength for the Cubs this year, as their 3.72 rotation ERA ranks 6th in the majors thanks primarily to elite performances from Taillon, , and . While adding a pitcher of Snells caliber would surely bolster the clubs rotation and could even allow the club to deal Taillon without suffering a short-term dip in production, the fact that clubs seemingly view Snell as more likely than not to head back to free agency this fall seems to directly contradict the clubs stated plan to focus on the future this summer. Regardle s of what the Cubs plans are regarding Taillon or a po sible pursuit of Snell, reported prior to todays trade for Paredes that the Cubs are listening to offers regarding almost anyone on the roster but are focusing on trying to trade from their bullpen mix. Per Sharma, four relief arms in particularly are most frequently brought up by contenders interested in dealing with the Cubs over the coming days: right-handers , , and as well as southpaw . Of the quartet, Sharma suggests that veterans Smyly and Neris are the most likely to move, as each could become a free agent at seasons end. Neris, who has posted an uneven season with a 3.68 ERA and 4.54 FIP this year, has a $9MM team option in his contract that will convert into a $9MM player option in the event that he reaches either 60 appearances or 45 games finished this year. With 39 appearances and 27 games finished so far this year, both benchmarks are within the realm of po sibility, and Sharma suggests that this aspect of his contract complicates the po sibility of a trade. Smyly, who sports a 2.79 ERA and 4.52 FIP in 38 2/3 innings of work this year, has a much le s complicated contractual situation; his contract comes with a $10MM mutual option that is certain to be declined by one side or the other in favor of a $2.5MM buyout. While Neris and Smyly seem unlikely to command ma sive returns, recently discu sed the hefty price tags that have come with controllable relievers this season. Mooney, Sammon, Woo, and Sharma all believe that the Cubs intend to deal Leiter and Merryweather only if they can leverage that sellers market for cost-controlled relief arms, with Sharma noting that the asking price is high for Leiter in particular. The 33-year-olds 4.37 ERA this year is unspectacular, but his ma sive 34.5% strikeout rate, a sparkling 2.18 FIP, and the fact that he can be controlled through the end of the 2026 season all could make him a very appealing addition for contenders in search of relief help. As for Merryweather, the 32-year-old has been injured much of this year but is now healthy, sports a 3.33 ERA and 3.44 FIP since joining the Cubs prior to the 2023 campaign, and comes with the same two additional season of club control that Leiter does. Another consideration for the Cubs, whether theyre adding or subtracting from the current roster, figures to be the luxury tax. Chicago currently sports a luxury tax payroll of just under $234MM , a figure that puts them a little more than $3MM under the first threshold of the luxury tax. The addition of a player with a hefty salary like Snell would surely put them well beyond that threshold, while dealing a player like Taillon or even a le s expensive relief arm like Neris or Smyly would likely offer the Cubs additional breathing room below the tax threshold. Given the fact that Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts back in February that the natural place for the clubs payroll to land was right up against the tax threshold, it would be something of a shock for ownership to greenlight spending beyond the luxury tax in a year where the club evidently is not expecting to make the postseason. Peter Lambert Jersey