As of today, June 15, MLB teams are free to trade guys they signed in the offseason as free agents. That means that, as far as the Cubs are concerned, outfielder Xavier Nady is on the block.
Sure, Nady provides depth in the outfield and at first base, but as his arm strength returns, he’s going to appear to other teams as a starting-caliber outfielder signed to a bargain basement contract ($3.3 million this year). The Cubs can’t afford to hang onto a luxury like that. For what it’s worth, Jon Heyman agrees:
The Cubs are stacked in the outfield, and a trade of Xavier Nady seems likely. That could help the reduce the logjam.
Nady’s most-recently been rumored as a Los Angeles Angels target, given their hole at first base. But Nady will soon be able to play in the outfield full time, which should greatly expand the bucket of teams to whom the Cubs could send him.