The Cubs are in rebuilding mode. Their farm system is loaded with talented young position players. But they don't have a catcher of the future and are weak in pitching prospects. They match up incredibly well with us. The trade is there for the making:
We can get Samardzija by offering them Bethancourt plus any three our minor league pitchers not named Sims or Cabrera.
The three I suspect they would choose if they had that offer would be Hale, Graham and Simmons.
I would not include Wood, Sims or Cabrera in any trade for Samardzija.
This trade would be similar to the Michael Bourn trade. We gave up Schafer, Oberholtzer, Clemens and Abreu in that trade. None of these guys are of the caliber of Bethancourt as a prospect. We would be offering a stronger package for Samardzija.
I don't think you could get it done without one of those guys, but given Theo and Jed's desire to begin stockpiling arms to go along with their position players, I think an offer of Cabrera, Hursh, Hale, and their choice of Northcraft or Martin could get it done.