This year the MLB non-waiver trade deadline is August 1. That’s a day later than normal.  I’m sure it has something to do with July 31 being on a Sunday and nobody in the MLB Office wanting to work that day, or maybe it’s to give Kyle Schwarber an extra day of recovery before he renders the whole thing moot by rejoining the Cubs lineup and hitting 500 foot homers?

Whatever, because the Cubs are good again, and because they give off the fetid stench of a team that needs reinforcements, pronto, this deadline is even more anticipated than most.  Already the Twitters and the radio sports yakkers are filled with awful trade proposals from fans (“Carl Edwards Jr. and Albert Almora for Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller…is that TOO much for the Cubs to give up?”).  Before you can intelligently make a decision as to what kinds of deals are in the realm of reality, you have to first figure out what your favorite team’s players are worth.  That’s what this handy primer is for.  The top 40 Cubs in terms of trade value (give or take) ranked from “There’s no way in hell they’d trade him” to “Please, please, take him.”  If nothing else, it’ll make for good arguments.

Tier I
There’s no way in hell they’d trade him

Kris Bryant – Given his age, his ability, his versatility and his salary, there’s a good chance that Kris Bryant is the most valuable trade chip in all of baseball.  Thanks to the Cubs stashing him in Iowa the first week of last year, he has FIVE more years of control after this.  So what good is his tremendous trade value if they won’t use it?  I guess you’ll have to just settle for him winning the MVP for your favorite team and taking them to the playoffs.

Anthony Rizzo – A close second to his best buddy, Anthony’s extra value comes from his cost-controlled contract, and the fact that he’s fucking awesome.  He’s been very productive all season, but how about the fact that he raised his batting average 61 points, from .238 on June 1 to .299 at the All-Star Break, in just 34 games?

Jake Arrieta – His current mortality is a little disconcerting given that we just kind of counted on him remaining the best pitcher on the planet (non-Kershaw Division) forever.  But despite battling command issues off and on all season, he’s still been very good, and they need him to get it together for the stretch run.  With a season left before he’s a free agent, the Cubs could get a haul for him.  But they aren’t going to.

Addison Russell – Don’t let the “he doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star” crap cloud your judgement of his value.  Addison is 22, is already a Gold Glove caliber shortstop and run producer.  His batting and on base averages will both improve over time.  He’ll be a fixture in the Cubs infield for a decade.  It’s impressive that he’s already this good.

Kyle Schwarber – This has to be too high for a guy without a real defensive position and one working ACL, right?  Nope.  How quickly people forget that without our favorite fire hydrant shaped slugger last year there might not have even been a playoff run.  He has unfathomable power from the left side, he works pitchers, he learned to play a passable left field on the fly in the big leagues last season, and he’s 22 years old.  When Theo says they will not trade him, he’s not being coy.  The Cubs have a lot of talent on the roster and in the system, but Kyle’s ability to grow into a 40 homer lefty bat isn’t something they’re going to be able to just find.  He’s not going anywhere.

Jon Lester – OK, so he’s expensive.  So he can’t hold runners on.  He can’t really field his position.  He can apparently only pitch to one catcher.  He’s also one of the best postseason pitchers in history, and he’s lefthanded and he’s 32 with four more years after this on his contract (plus a team option), and the price of pitching is only going up, and he’s cost controlled (even if it is for a lot of money.)  Until his last two starts he was the Cubs best pitcher this year.  And actually, even after his last two starts, he’s still the Cubs best pitcher this year.

Willson Contreras – Here’s how much it sucks to be the Cubs these days.  They just suffered through their worst stretch of baseball since Dale Sveum was in charge, and not only did they emerge still in first place, but during that stretch they found their starting catcher for the next several years.  There is a lot to love about Willson.  He has an advanced approach at the plate, he has power, he can play left field and first base, he’s athletic behind the plate with a great arm.  He’s got the hard part of being a catcher down, now it’s all nuance.  Given his in your face enthusiasm, that might take him a while to master, but he’s already the kind of player that every other team looks at and says, “I want one of those.”

Tier II
We might trade him, but you’re going to have to give us a shit ton.

Javier Baez – His improvement from 2014 to today is stunning, especially since injuries derailed so much of his season last year.  He’s an elite defender at shortstop, might be an even better third baseman and is a very good second baseman.  He’s striking out less and less, and his power is still evident.  If the Cubs tried to trade him, I think they’d have to kill Joe Maddon to get Javy out of the clubhouse.  He’s 23, and he can still be too aggressive at times, not just at the plate, but also in the field.  But the aggressiveness that caused him to miss Kris Bryant at third trying to cut down a runner coming from second base when there was an easy out at first, is the same aggressiveness that allowed him to make two of the most amazing damned plays you’ll ever see in Miami, including diving head first into the stands to catch a foul ball.  You take the good with the bad with Javy, but it seems like month to month the good outweighs the bad more and more.  He has a value on him that if a team reached they could get him from the Cubs.  I just don’t think anybody is in a position to actually give up what they’d have to, to get him.

Hector Rondon – Wait, they’d trade their closer?  Well, it’s not likely, but it’s not impossible.  What if the Yankees said the Cubs could get Chapman AND Miller if Hector was part of the trade?  You’d at least listen, right?  What the Cubs want to do is find an end of the game reliever so they can use Wood in the sixth, Strop in the seventh, the new guy in the eighth and Hector in the ninth.  Maybe if the new guy was Aroldis, it would be Hector in the eighth and the new guy in the ninth.  So the odds of Hector going anywhere aren’t very high, but there are odds.

Tier III
The best they have to offer that they’ll actually part with
Jorge Soler – It’s easy to forget that Jorge is only 24.  Injuries stunted his development in the minors and they are doing it again in the big leagues.  His playoff performance was crucial to the Cubs beating the Cardinals, and the hope was that he would keep on developing this season.  He got off to a lousy start, but then was putting it all together when he pulled his hamstring in Philadelphia.  IF he comes off the DL before the deadline, he’ll be in demand.  And with Kyle certain to hold down left field for a decade, trading Jorge for the right player(s) seems like the smart move.

Gleyber Torres –  He’s 19, he’s already in High A and is more than holding his own.  He’s a legit big league shortstop prospect and the Cubs already have two players in front of him at the position.  If the Cubs land a big player at the deadline, it’s likely that Gleyber will be part of the package.  I’m personally opposed to ever trading anyone with a name as weird and cool as Gleyber, but that’s probably not the best way to determine a player’s availability.

Eloy Jimenez – Also 19, Eloy has enjoyed a breakthrough season in the Midwest League (as much as anyone can enjoy a season spent in South Bend), but he blew the doors off at the Futures Game last weekend.  Eloy doubled, banged a homer off the warehouse and then made the most impossible Plastic Man grab of a foul ball imaginable.  The Cubs see him as a lankier, more flexible (therefore more durable) Jorge.  So Eloy’s value might not show itself in what he can bring in return in trade (because the Cubs really don’t want to part with him) but instead, because he makes Jorge expendable.

Tier IV
You can’t have him, or his Christian-pop wife’s walkup music
Ben Zobrist – OK, they aren’t trading him, but value wise, if they did, this is where he’d slot in.  Despite his age and his nice, fat four-year contract, he’s still versatile, and still productive, even at a premium price.  Having to pay him an average of $14.5 million through his age 38 season isn’t ideal, but it’s the cost of doing business.

Tier V
Can we interest you in a recent first round draft pick?
Ian Happ – Last year’s number one pick hasn’t stopped hitting.  He’s splitting time between the outfield (where’s already comfortable) and second base (where’s he’s still a project), but the bat is going to play.  Teams never trade their first round picks the year after they make them, do they, Dansby Swanson?

Albert Almora Jr. – Looking back it seems like they called him up when Dexter Fowler got hurt, but he was actually up before that, when Jorge pulled his.  His stay was supposed to be short, but then Dexter did get hurt and the Cubs are apparently growing Jorge a new hamstring in a lab somewhere.  Albert’s shortcoming is still evident…he just doesn’t draw walks.  But his defense is as good as advertised, he’s a savvy baserunner (unless a wild pitch an umps foot and rolls to Yadi), and he’s had a few big hits already.  He’s going to be the Cubs opening day centerfielder next year, so to say he’s unlikely to be traded is an understatement.

Tier VI
The most likely guy to actually get traded
Jeimer Candelario – Though he’d barely played above AA, the Cubs recalled him for a couple of weeks.  I’m not sure if the hope was to showcase him, but it seemed like a waste of an option.  He was great in the spring, and after a slow start in the minors this year he turned it on.  He’s a switch hitter with pop, he’s a solid defender, and he’s blocked at his big league position.  It sure looks like the Cubs didn’t mind using the option because they don’t expect to have him around much longer.

Tier VII
We need these guys
Dexter Fowler – How can he ranked this low, when he’s already been traded for Luis Valbuena in his career?  Dexter’s strong second half was huge for the Cubs last year and his great start fueled that 25-9 start to the season.  They are a pitiable 6-15 since he went on the DL, and it’s not all coincidence.  Dexter not only is a good leadoff hitter, but the rest of the lineup just fits better with him at the top of it.  He should return next week sometime, and it’s not a moment too soon.

Kyle Hendricks – If not for the Randall Delgado “They don’t did a trade,” Kyle would either still be a Ranger or have been traded to some other team for some other mediocre Canadian pitcher.  But Ryan Dempster didn’t want to go to Atlanta (he was holding out for a Dodgers trade that never happened) and at the deadline the Cubs got Christian Villanueva (out for the season or he’d be on this list) and Hendricks.  Right now, at this very moment, Kyle is the Cubs most dependable starting pitcher.  That’s impressive in that it shows how much he’s improved, and depressing in that it points out the slumps that Arrieta, Lester and John Lackey are in.  When he’s back to being the fourth best starter (hopefully right after the break) the team works much better.  If Jason Hammel weren’t such a basket case, you could make a case for selling high on Hendricks, but Jason is, so the Cubs can’t.  Even if they could, not a lot of front offices value his control-command brand of pitching.  But the Cubs do, so he’s got a perfect fit where he’s already at.

Pedro Strop – Apparently set up men are never allowed to give up a run, because there are pockets of the Interwebs that explode with rage when Pedro comes in.  It’s just dumb.  He’s a quality set up man.  One of the problems the Cubs have had lately is that Joe has had to try to bridge more than two innings with Pete and Hector.  Adding another good reliever would give the Cubs a potentially dominant 7th, 8th, 9th combination.  Pedro’s good, he knows how to wear a hat to irritate an entire fanbase, and he’s a cool guy.

Travis Wood – Starter, reliever, pinch hitter, left fielder, pinch runner…what can’t Travis Wood do?  (Grow a beard that doesn’t make him look like a Foghat roadie?)  He’s the lone dependable lefty in the bullpen and though his velocity has been down this year, he’s still getting guys out.  He’s still in his 20s (amazingly) and he’s got a lot of years left.  Unless Dave Sappelt makes a stunning comeback, he’s all the Cubs have to show from the Sean Marshall trade.  But it’s worked out just fine.  The Cubs really need to find him a non-Clayton Richard lefty sidekick in the bullpen, though.

John Lackey – He’s old, he’s cranky, he breathes entirely through his mouth and he’s in a slump.  But in this pitching market, the Cubs would get quality for him.  Not that they’re going to.  Hell, the last time he was traded it was from Boston to St. Louis and it ended Allen Craig’s career and the Awfulest Fans in Baseball still haven’t recovered from losing the great Joe Kelly.

Tier VIII
Nobody wants a Cubs pitching prospect, anyway
Dylan Cease – Cease was a high school overpay by the Cubs (to get him to drop a commitment to Vanderbilt) a couple of years ago, and would have been a first round pick had he not caught Tommy John Disease.  He pitched well at the end of last year, but left his last start this year very early.  That’s never a good sign.

Tier IX
Maybe we can get Starlin back? And other bullpen fodder.
Adam Warren – For six weeks he looked like a keeper.  Then, he just looked like a slightly less fat, less productive version of Trevor Cahill.  His spot start was a good one, and then he followed that up with a relief appearance where he looked more like a batting tee than a pitcher.  He has a pretty good track record so he probably has some value.  But his best value would just to be to stop sucking, because the Cubs really need him to be not terrible.

Justin Grimm – When he’s on, he’s excellent.  Last year he struggled a few different times, but not for very long.  This year he went bad and has mostly stayed that way.  When he’s good he forms that bridge to Pedro and Hector.  If they add a quality reliever and Justin gets his shit together there’s a pretty good map from the sixth inning to the end.  He’s not there right now, but his last few outings have been less concerning.

Carl Edwards Jr. – Carl’s Jr. is one of the more reliable members of the Cubs bullpen right now, which sort of tells you what kind of disarray the Cubs bullpen is in.  His stuff plays, when he throws strikes, and for the most part he’s done that during this call up.  He still needs more development time, and it’s unlikely Joe would go to him in a big late season or postseason moment if he has any other option.  I could see him being a fixture in next year’s bullpen or being dealt this month as part of a package for someone who can be a fixture in this year’s bullpen.

Tier X
When he gets traded, Cubs fans will immediately bitch that they didn’t get enough back
Dan Vogelbach – For most of his career, Dan has made up for his weight problem by also having a defense problem.  He’s just not a very good athlete.  So the outfield isn’t really a consideration.  It’s first base or bust, and the fact that he’s probably 5’9–maybe 5’10 (he’s listed at 6’0), is another complication.  But for almost all of his minor league career he has hit, and this year he’s hitting for average and power.  So he’s got some value.  Just not as much as Cubs fans seem to think he does.  There’s no way for him to get playing time in the big leagues as a Cub, so he’s almost certain to get traded at the deadline.

Tier XI
Who needs a slap hitting outfielder (or three?)
Billy McKinney – The “other” other guy (I suppose Hammel was another other guy, too) in the Addison-Samardzija trade, McKinney strikes me as a less athletic Ryan Sweeney.  Maybe a less mopey Derrick May?  He has value because he can hit, but he has less than ideal power for a corner and isn’t really fast enough to play center.  Otherwise, he’s perfect.

Mark Zagunis – Drafted as a catcher, but with a clear understanding that he might not stick there, he’s an outfielder now and he tore up AA and has been promoted to Iowa.  He strikes me as the 2016 version of Brandon Guyer.  Hey, Guyer got traded for a starting pitcher!  Oh, it was Matt Garza.  And, oh, Chris Archer went in that deal, too.

Donnie Dewees – He’s speedy and still developing (as you can see from his .325 on base average in South Bend) and has stolen 16 bases in 19 attempts. There are a lot of other players in Donnie’s way in the system.

Tier XII
Would you like a bench guy with a weird last name?
Matt Szczur – There’s a funny thing about being a part-time big league player.  Szczur has shown that he’s useful, and is probably more talented than the three minor league outfielders listed just before him (McKinney, Zagunis and Dewees), but he’s older, he’s out of options and there’s less to dream on with him than the guys who haven’t had to prove it yet.

Tommy Lastella – There is no doubt he’s a useful bat on the bench.  But he really doesn’t have a position, especially on the Cubs.  He’s a second baseman by trade, and Zobrist and Javy are clearly better options there than him, and he’s learned to play third, but he’s really not very good there.  The Cubs got him in a trade with the Barves for Aroyds Vizcaino, and even though Aroyds still walks too many guys, he’d look pretty good in the Cubs bullpen right now.

Tier XIII
Even more bullpen “depth” for sale
Trevor Cahill – To say the Cubs got him off the scrap heap last year is an understatement.  For what they gave up to get him (nothing) he’s been a nice find.  But ironically, for a guy who was an All-Star once as a starting pitcher, he really struggles if Joe tries to squeeze a second inning out of him in relief.  The long stretch where the rotation was flaming out early in games and the bullpen was overtaxed showed this.  Big Trev would come in and pitch well, then sit down and come back out for another inning and give up a three run homer to some clown like Tucker Barnhart.

Spencer Patton – Spencer’s got a good arm, but he’s just a guy.  If he went in a trade it would just be as roster ballast.

Tier XIV
Two guys who might be worth more next year
Eddy Julio Martinez – If his recent surge at South Bend is an indication of his true talent, Eddy will move up this list pretty swiftly next season.  He’s Cuban so maybe he’s really 21 years old. Or maybe he’s 31. This is his first season of American professional baseball and he struggled early, but has figured it out.  He should be ready for a promotion to Myrtle Beach which will be a better test for him.

Victor Caratini – A switch hitting catcher that the Cubs got from the Barves back in 2014 when Atlanta thought they were a contender, he’s also playing some first base at Tenneessee.  Before you get too excited, he’s no Willson Contreras, which is to be expected when you are traded for James Russell and Emilio Bonifacio.

Tier XV
This would literally make Jon Lester’s head explode
David Ross – The fact that just a few months from retirement that he’s not last on this list, is disturbing to anyone listed after him.  He’s apparently such a vital part of the psyche of the team that when he went on the seven-day concussion DL they swapped out Jeimer for Muneiori Kawasaki for a morale boost.  Seriously.  That’s a thing they did.  For two days.

Tier XVI
Please, please take him
Jason Hammel – Do you think the Cubs could get anything for him right now if they wanted to?  His overall numbers still look pretty good, but he’s gotten worse every month (again) and the track record says it only gets uglier from here.  The Cubs would be wise to find another starting pitcher, because they’re going to need to replace him.

Clayton Richard – The Cubs got him for a dollar from Pissburgh last year and he’s probably worth half that now.  One school of thought with Clayton is that the way he was used last year is the reason he made a surprising effective transition to the bullpen.  He had gotten enough multi-inning work to get his stuff together and just had to maintain it.  He’s been used more as a LOOGY this year and just has never really gotten it together.  Now that his phantom blister is healed, they’re giving him multi-inning rehab work in the minors, and they’ll try it again.  But the leash is pretty short.

Chris Coghlan – Thanks for coming back and proving your .146 batting average in Oakland was an unlucky fluke by hitting .194 with the Cubs.  His rib injury came at a good time for him, because he’ll survive the return of Dexter Fowler to the active roster and probably Jorge Soler, but I can’t imagine he’s of any use on this team he’s ready to come back.  I wish the team would hold an auction to benefit Cubs Care to bid to be the person who gets to tell him he’s being released.  I’d pay a lot.

Miguel Montero – He’s done.  And he’s owed $14 million next year.  That’s the textbook definition of having no trade value.

So there you have it.  Obviously if and when the Cubs make trades this month there will be other minor leaguers that go in both directions, but this is basically the pool of alluring players the Cubs are out there shopping.  The bullpen needs an arm.  The rotation needs an arm.  I’d love to see a real bat in left field for the rest of the year.  But the team took off last year after the deadline, thanks to the guys on the roster before the deadline, because Tommy Hunter and Dan Haren didn’t really do all that much.  Would it be easier to get to the World Series with Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew Miller?  Sure it would.  Can they do it without them?  Stay tuned.