Cubs blockbuster trade prize gets ‘F’ for early returns after slow start

There isn’t much that seems to be going right for the Chicago Cubs this season, though you can’t say they aren’t trying to win.

They signed manager Craig Counsell to a record-breaking contract in the offseason and handed over $80 million to bring back Cody Bellinger, among other win-now moves. Then, even while sitting five games below .500 at the trade deadline, they swung a blockbuster deal to add infielder Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for slugger Christopher Morel and pitching prospects Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge.

Unfortunately, the early returns on that trade haven’t worked out as the team might have hoped. Paredes has slashed just .170/.293/.286 since joining the Cubs while the players they gave away have shown significant promise. As a result, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has downgraded the deal from an initial “B” grade to an “F” for the Cubs.

“Paredes had a .797 OPS in his three seasons with the Rays, but he’s sitting at .579 a little over a month into the Chicago portion of his career,” Miller wrote. “But they gave up Morel and two legitimate pitching prospects for what has thus far been less offense than they were getting out of Morel.”

Snagging the two young pitchers have looked like a coup for the Rays as well, with Johnson maintaining a 0.78 ERA in 23 innings of High-A ball since the trade and Bigge striking out seven batters and giving up no runs in his first 7.1 innings with the Rays.

Paredes has three years of arbitration ahead on his contract and this deal will ultimately be graded several seasons into the future. But the initial returns suggest that the Cubs gave up on three players with bright futures for one who has not been able to perform up to expectations so far.

But as the Cubs sit a handful of games out of the National League Wild Card race, there’s still an opportunity for Paredes to flip the initial trade perception once again. If the team surges toward a postseason berth behind a resurgence in his hitting, this “F” could certainly move back up to a passing grade.

“At the time of the trade, he had a .357 on-base percentage with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs over 101 games,” Jim Bowden noted for The Athletic. “If he can return to that level, he could be an X-factor for the Cubs’ offense, which ranks third in the NL in runs scored over the past 30 days.”

More MLB: Is Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on hot seat? 'Seems ridiculous,' insider says