Could the Chicago Cubs Move Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, and Joc Pederson Mid-Season?

This year's PECOTA crystal ball has the Chicago Cubs winning 85 baseball games, which would put them very much in the mix for a playoff spot. But there's been turnover in the front office and even the most optimistic fans are rightly guarded for an in-season shift to a rebuild, even if the team carries a halfway decent record into July.

Will Middlebrooks gave voice to this possibility on the Wake and Rake podcast with Danny Vietti, breaking down exactly what that might look like. It's a bold prediction, yes, but it might not be the worst idea for Chicagoans to consider a North Side club without Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson.

Opening Day is supposed to be a hopeful beginning where the possibilities are endless. When future problems are for a future person to worry about. There's a very good chance things break a bit better for the Cubs this year and they don't have to ship two of their beloved players out of town, plus Pederson.

But there is always that uncertainty under a new regime. There's no real promise of what they'll do.