USA TODAY International Edition
Title- hungry Cubs cling to Schwarber
It was late at night, and Kyle Schwarber limped across the Chicago Cubs clubhouse, one of the last players to leave Wrigley Field.
He made a spectacular play during the game, bare- handing a foul ball that sailed into the Cubs dugout and receiving high- fives from teammates and a nice ova- tion from the crowd.
It was his finest play in three months, ever since that April 7 night in the third game of the season, the moment he collided with center fielder Dexter Fowler at Chase Field in Phoenix. His left knee was shattered. Fully torn anterior collateral ligament. Fully torn lateral collateral ligament. See ya next spring.
“I’ve still got the hands,” Schwarber said, laughing, as he walked toward the exit. “Still got it.”
It’s killing Schwarber not to be an integral part of this, knowing
the Cubs are going to run away with the National League Central and embark on perhaps the greatest October in franchise history, taking aim at the World Series title that has eluded them since 1908.
Yet the cruel twist is that Schwarber could be the key to the Cubs winning a championship. He could be the one to bring the Cubs those pieces to ensure that October belongs to them.
The Cubs insist they won’t trade him, saying they would have to be overwhelmed to even engage in serious trade talks, but, oh, man, they can’t help but dream about that New York Yankees duo.
The Cubs have made it perfectly clear they won’t give up Schwarber for Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, who’s eligible for free agency at the season’s conclusion. They won’t give up Schwarber for premier left- handed setup man Andrew Miller, who has 2 ½ years left on his contract.
But if the Yankees want to talk about both of them, they’ll have the Cubs’ attention.
The Cubs would be virtually unbeatable in the playoffs with a bullpen trio of Chapman, Miller and Hector Rondon, cornering the marketplace on closers. Having Chapman and Miller would ensure that they wouldn’t have to face either in October, keeping them away from the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays.
“Do we want Miller and Chapman? Sure we do,” Cubs veteran catcher David Ross said. “You want to give this team every opportunity to win, and this organization is so hungry for a World Series. But at the expense of Schwarber? Wow, I don’t know about that.
“This guy is a baseball rat, someone who has all of the right leadership qualities, and when he comes back healthy, this guy is such a special hitter. We talk about it all of the time: If Kyle Schwarber doesn’t get hurt this year, I think we’re chasing some record. His bat is that important to us.
“I don’t care who you’re giving me, Schwarber would be untouchable to me — well, unless something just knocked your socks off.” Uh, like Miller and Chapman? “It’s that time of year when he’s going to hear his name thrown into all kinds of rumors,” Cubs All- Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “But there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s not fun for him, trying to get healthy and hearing all of those rumors, but it’s all part of baseball.
“I did tell him, though, that if he does go to the Yankees, it’s sure going to be a good ballpark for him to hit in with that short right field.”
The Yankees have not spoken directly to the Cubs about Schwarber. But everywhere you turn, the Yankees are talking about him. They salivate at the idea of having Schwarber as a cornerstone. He would become their everyday first baseman, replacing Mark Teixeira in 2017, and — with that left- handed swing — perhaps a consistent 40- homer hitter.
The Cubs front office members, with a frenzied fan base clamoring to make any move to get that title, realize they’re on the threshold of something historic. And this is too talented of a team, having too special of a season, to watch it slip away with a leaky bullpen.
Cubs President Theo Epstein is letting everyone know that he isn’t about to let the Aug. 1 trade deadline go by without making at least one major trade.
But he says it won’t involve Schwarber.
“Kyle is a huge part of our personality and our culture,” Epstein told USA TODAY Sports. “He got hurt giving extra effort trying to help this team win. He is working extremely hard to rehab and is even finding ways to contribute off the field. It wouldn’t be right to trade him.”
But will it be necessary to trade him? The Cubs almost are just as hesitant to part with infielder Javier Baez, who they think could win a Gold Glove at three positions, and center fielder Albert Almora Jr. They would part with power- hitting right fielder Jorge Soler, but he won’t bring back the same value. They’ve explored using lesser prospects to obtain a struggling starter to use in the bullpen, though that wouldn’t buy the October certainty Chapman or Miller — or both — would.
It’s why the Schwarber rumors refuse to die.
“I want to be here as long as I can,” Schwarber said. “I love it here. I love the town. Love the fans. Everything about this place is awesome.
“But all of this stuff is out of my control. My job is to be here, rehab and try to help these guys get to their ultimate goal. Even though I can’t be on the field to help them, I’m trying to help them in any other way I can.”
That’s why he arrives by noon, sits in on meetings and lingers well after games.
“He’s always smiling, and that smile is infectious for all of us,” Cubs All- Star third baseman Kris Bryant said. “You can be down going through an injury like that, but he’s just taking it and honestly helping our team out by just being a presence in the dugout.
“Who wouldn’t want Kyle Schwarber on their team?”
Schwarber, 23, selected in the 2014 draft out of Indiana, had 16 homers and 43 RBI in 69 regularseason games in 2015 and hit a franchise- record five more homers in nine playoff games.
“If you just evaluate the player,” Cubs scouting director Jason McLeod said, “you’re talking about an impact middle-of- the-order threat who will hit for aver- age, hit for power and be a force. But when you throw in his makeup, the leadership and teammates qualities and competitiveness, he’s off the charts.
“He’s the type of guy you build your team around.”
The great debate in scouting circles is whether Schwarber belongs in the American League, particularly with the severity of his knee injury. The Cubs don’t know if he can play catcher again. And there’s no room at first base, not with MVP candidate Rizzo locked up, potentially through 2021. This leaves only left field, where Schwarber struggled at times last season and was injured on that diving play in April.
This is why it would make sense — at least on paper — to relocate to New York, where Schwarber could play first base and DH for the Yankees. But the Cubs wince at the thought of life without him.
“Everybody’s going to have their opinions, and I take that to heart,” Schwarber said. “But I feel like I’m a National League player. I’m not an American League player yet. I’m not just a DH. I really feel that.
“I’m not going to let a couple of plays define that. I’ve got something to prove when I come back next year, and I’m going to come back bigger, stronger and faster, ready to go.”
The Cubs can’t help but believe, too, vividly recalling the first conversation they had with Schwarber, who insisted he could become a big- league catcher.
“Theo and I met him at Indiana, and we hadn’t even known the kid for five minutes when we talked about catching,” McLeod said. “He looked at us in the face and said, ‘ I’m sick and ( expletive) tired of people telling me that I can’t catch.’ He said it respectfully but was so direct. We were just blown away.
“We were so impressed with his confidence and candidness that we fell in love with him.”
That love affair refuses to wane, and — as badly as the Cubs covet that World Series title — it just wouldn’t feel right, they say, to have that parade without him.
We’ll see.