They have a few players that could be removed without much pain. The most obvious is Rivas, but McKinstry, Uelmen, and Rucker could be possibilities too. Not sure if this is what you meant by trades, but they could also be using 40 man players to get those guys on your wishlist too, Madrigal probably being the most likely. Regarding Madrigal, I certainly wouldn't sanction this. But is there any possibility the Cubs would keep Madrigal over Hoerner given Hoerner's success last year. It seems like prior to 2022, not a lot on this board were ultra-high on the Lack-of-power/light-hitting infielder named Nico. Then his 2022 season happens. He's still under control; for a few years, seems to have tapped into his upside. has shown to have some pop in the bat and would most likely fetch much more in a trade than Madrigal coming off of his 2022 season. I think as a SS, Hoerner has way more value to the Cubs than Madrigal as a 2B. But now with Hoerner slated as a 2B, how much more value is there versus what he could get in a return/trade? **edit/add** The Cubs obviously like Nico as he was drafted by Jed. But they also like (or at least were very high on) Madrigal as he seemed to be the centerpiece in the Kimbrel trade. Does Jed give up after one season of Nick? Trying to trade him after consecutive injury seasons would really be selling low. Again, I'm not advocating this, just wondering if it's something anyone thinks the Cubs would consider.