They can do both. They have very, very few guys that they "need" to trade now before the 2012 to maximize their value; Marshall is pretty much the only one since he's signed for just the one year. Byrd's arguably the other. The rest have enough time that the FO can play the field and construct a competitive team for 2012. If the team falters and it looks to be a better move to trade, hey, great, you've got the trade deadline, or before next season. A fire sale is just an act of desperation that small market teams find themselves having to do when backed into the corner. The Cubs don't have to do that. Yes, if they're being bowled over with great offers, sure, pounce on it...but that's likely not the case. Moving most of these guys is going to take work and time to maximize the return, so the idea of intentionally tanking the season just seems even more ridiculous (trading Marshall and Byrd is not tanking the season).