12:23pm: Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that L.A. will receive two minor league players who don’t occupy spots on Chicago’s 40-man roster. According to Toribio, one of those players is among the better pitching prospects in the Cubs’ system.
12:09pm: Almonte is part of a larger, more significant deal. Toribio reports that former first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect Michael Busch is headed to Chicago.
12:02pm: The sides are in agreement on a deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (on X).
11:50am: The Cubs and Dodgers are discussing a trade that would send reliever Yency Almonte to Chicago, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com (X link). Almonte and the Dodgers already agreed to a $1.9MM arbitration salary back in November.
Busch has the more significant value of the two players known to be headed to Chicago. Los Angeles selected the UNC product with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 draft. Regarded as a bat-first prospect with questions about his defensive fit, Busch has mostly lived up to that billing during his time in the minors.
Over parts of four seasons in the minors, the left-handed hitter owns a .283/.390/.529 line. That includes a robust .293/.385/.544 showing in just under 1000 plate appearances at Triple-A. Busch has connected on 48 home runs and 58 doubles with an excellent 11.8% walk rate at the top minor league level.
More to come.
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