Friday’s trade of Drew Smyly set off a fun blizzard of articles and conversation among Cubs fans. On one level, it gave everyone their first fascinating piece for trying to put together the puzzle of Theo Epstein’s plan for the offseason.
But largely overlooked in the Smyly trade analysis was the inclusion of those two players to be named later (PTBNL). One goes to the Cubs, the other to Texas. And I actually think those two pieces could be key to fully understanding this deal. More on that in a moment.
First, the Smyly trade reminds us how fun a Cubs offseason is to watch and analyze.