Here is the dumbest Yu Darvish trade proposal you will probably ever see

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t believe the Cubs will trade Yu Darvish this offseason. To do so would be admitting that they are going into a rebuild, and I do think Theo & Co. are going to at least attempt to make one more run at a title with the current core, even if one of two of them are traded.

But those “one or two” aren’t going to include Darvish.

I don’t usually write articles based on random trade rumors or proposals, because the overwhelming majority of the time, those don’t come to fruition.

But I am writing this article because I came across a Darvish trade proposal from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman is usually a pretty good writer and a good analyst of baseball, but this is absolutely absurd. He proposes trading Giancarlo Stanton and prospects to the Cubs for Darvish, Jason Heyward and Craig Kimbrel:

This one definitely blows up the Yankees’ 2021 luxury tax — but again it is short-term pain, for long-term gain. How much do the Cubs want to lower payroll in the short term (word is a lot)? This saves the Cubs $51 million from 2021-23, including $30 million in 2021. Plus, their underwhelming farm system could pick up a piece or two additionally as a reward for taking on Stanton from 2024-27 ($98 million with the Marlins’ piece removed).

The thing is... why would the Cubs want Stanton at all? He’s injury-prone — in 10 seasons since his debut that had a full 162-game schedule, Stanton played 150 or more only three times — and is now basically exclusively a designated hitter. We don’t yet even know whether the universal DH will be in effect for National League teams in 2021, although as I noted earlier today, it could be a bargaining chip between owners and players.

Stanton is three days from turning 31 — he’s essentially the same age as Heyward — and with his injury history and inability to play the field anymore, why would the Cubs want him at all? Granted, as noted by Sherman, this deal would save the Cubs a lot of money, which presumably they could spend elsewhere, but there’s no guarantee of that.

Oh, and beyond that, Sherman adds:

Should the Yankees try to widen the deal to figure out a way to get switch-hitting Ian Happ, a good athlete who has shown growth as a center fielder? Yes.

So the Cubs should trade two of their starting outfielders, one of whom is outstanding defensively and a team leader, to get an injury-prone DH, just to save some money?

I wouldn’t do this. Would you?