We can pretend the Chicago Cubs will spend the $500 million that could be required to re-sign Kyle Tucker this winter. Jed Hoyer and Craig Counsell will say all the right things leading into this offseason. However, at the end of the day, Tucker is going to test the market and sign with the highest bidder. We have a tough time believing that’ll be the Ricketts’ family – and I don’t blame them. Tucker is incredibly talented, but the Cubs can take the Yankees approach of using that money (in their case from the Soto deal) and making their team more well-rounded.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, one of their potential replacements for Tucker has a bone to pick with the front office. Hoyer and Chicago were interested in controllable starting pitching at the deadline. Mitch Keller, for one, seemed like a natural fit. However, the Cubs never did pull the trigger on such a deal. Top prospect Owen Caissie was the rumored return in any trade for Keller or Marlins starting pitcher Edwin Cabrera. In fact, Caissie has been floated since this past offseason as trade bait. Eventually, that has to get to a kid.

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Cubs prospect Owen Caissie doesn’t sound thrilled about trade rumors

Caissie admitted he was a little nervous about the prospect of being traded, but also said he would’ve taken any deal in stride. Neither or those answers is good news for Hoyer. First off, one would hope Caissie could understand why he was floated in trade conversations – it has much to do with why he is the Cubs top prospect. Second, in an ideal world Caissie would be thrilled to remain with the Cubs, rather than merely open to any deal.

“I was pretty nervous,” Caissie said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “I didn’t really have any feelings towards it — whether I was going or not. But I know a lot of people are surprised. But, I guess, I’m not really…if I would have been traded, OK. If I didn’t, great, I’m still with the Cubs.”

That’s…nice, I guess?

What keeping Owen Caissie means for the Cubs

Caissie’s comment doesn’t suggest he holds a grudge. Keeping Caissie signals that the Cubs know Tucker’s future is uncertain, and thus they want to have a possible replacement in hand if they do lose a player of that caliber. Ideally, the Cubs wouldn’t have floated Caissie in trade rumors for the better part of six-plus months. He is the team’s top-rated prospect and raking at Iowa. He ought to be treated like a future MLB star.

The Cubs problem as it pertains to Caissie is that they were not consistent with him. It won’t hurt them this time around, but MLB players tend to have long memories.