Proposed Blue Jays-Cubs trade shows how out of touch national media really is

The national baseball media is really something to behold. Ranging from reporting erroneous information about a certain free agent Toronto was chasing last winter to saying Aaron Judge is headed to the Bay Area, they have produced a laundry list of eye-roll commentary. When not complaining about the sport, they are making a mess out of the information ecosystem within it.

This latest trade proposal just seems designed to raise baseball fans' blood pressure.

To be fair, the activity in baseball so far is about as quiet as the Toronto Blue Jays offense. It can be an extremely fallow period when your job is to report on baseball news. The news should be heating up soon, however, and there will be plenty to report as the weeks march on.

Proposed trade to send Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the Cubs shows how out of touch national media really is

This trade proposal involves two teams that recently got together in the Nate Pearson swap. MLB Network's Anthony Castrovince floated the Blue Jays trading first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for first baseman Michael Busch, outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger and right-handed pitcher Cade Horton.

Let's start by saying that you could bid adieu to contention next season without the 2024 Silver Slugger Award winner in the lineup at first base on a near-daily basis. The front office is presumably working on an extension with the 25-year-old that would strongly position the future of the franchise, regardless of whether or not Juan Soto is brought to Canada. Busch is a fine player, but not yet on the same planet as the four-time All-Star.

As for the rest of the players, Gausman has been a good Toronto pitcher and largely carried over the success he experienced in the latter stages of his career. For a player on an expiring contract and potentially not part of the long-term future, it's worth at least picking up the phone and listening. Let's all hope that the front office signs Guerrero to an extension instead of needing to trade him before he leaves for nothing.

It's the other end of this trade that has observers scratching their heads. Castrovince would presumably have Toronto taking on a good portion of Cody Bellinger's contract, though that may be onerous for a Toronto front office with limited payroll space. Bellinger is coming off a down year that saw his batting average fall almost 40 points from the prior year and post the third-lowest OPS+ of his career.

Of course, Castrovince demurred on offering an exact figure the teams would have to swallow, simply stating, "I think the Cubs would probably have to eat some of that Bellinger deal in this scenario."

Horton is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but he has yet to make his MLB debut and recently topped out at the Triple-A level. As mentioned, Busch had a decent but not elite season, batting .248 with 21 home runs, 65 RBI, and a 118 OPS+ in 152 games. This past season represented the first real taste of Major League action for the native of Minnesota, who was also a highly ranked prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system.

These exercises are always fodder for baseball fans and make everyone feel as if they are armchair general managers. However, this is one that the Blue Jays should never agree to under any circumstances. There is simply too much value heading Chicago's way and not enough coming back to Toronto. Go back to the drawing board, and maybe we can talk afterward.

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