On today's Olney podcast, Olney said he'd bet the family farm that Sonny Gray is traded this off-season and "watch the Cubs" as club who might acquire him---Derek Johnson/Vandy connection, past Theo/Beane trades, etc.
Gray is controlled for another FOUR seasons after 2015, so Cubs interest would seem clear, along with Carrasco, Ross, etc. type guys. Just think trade along these lines more likely than big ticket FA pitcher already at age 30 for monster bucks.
Hope for huge Baez showing final 1/3 of season as trade bait. Yeah, big -time potential but, at 30% K rate at Iowa, best case scenario is 180 Ks per season guy in majors. Guessing Theo/Hoyer wary of adding another huge-K guy to current Cubs-K-leading-NL-by-wide-margin lineup. Also, Baez main value is as SS and Russell is our guy there going forward.