Cubs and Orioles Reportedly Discussing Jonathan Villar Trade

The Orioles will sneakily have a significant cameo in the 2019 MLB trade deadline action, with more valuable pieces than you might expect from a last-place team in the AL East.

In fact, they already got the selling going early with Andrew Cashner's all-expenses-paid trip to contention in Boston. We can also expect one of the AL's leading hitters in Hanser Alberto (!!), and maybe even slugging outfielder Trey Mancini, to end up elsewhere.

It seems the Chicago Cubs are rolling up to Baltimore's braintrust, too, attempting to fill the utility man hole they whiffed on with their Eric Sogard non-acquisition by trying to swing a deal for Jonathan Villar.

By now, everyone knows what they're getting with Villar -- a leadoff hitter type who doesn't get on base quite as often as he should, but sports significant pop and has already stolen 22 bases in 2019. Essentially, he's Sogard with the regression already baked in.

If imported to Chicago, Villar could be the type of plug-and-play option that Daniel Descalso simply hasn't been; the infield is full on an everyday basis, but he'd be an excellent supplement for a team that hasn't gotten quite as much out of David Bote in that roving role as they'd hoped to, either.