The Cubs want an enormous haul for right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
The team has already dealt away Matt Garza, Carlos Marmol, Alfonso Soriano and Scott Feldman, so it may be reluctant to go into full fire-sale mode with contention being just on the horizon.
Chicago has tried to engage Samardzija about a contract extension, but he has not showed the same enthusiasm as the team has towards getting a deal done.
Cubs GM Theo Epstein is asking teams to basically allow the Cubs to take their pick of prospects in any proposed deal, which means that a team would likely have to view Samardzija as a true ace to try to make a deal at this point. The Diamondbacks were one team rumored to be interested in the right-handed starter.
The team is also discussing trading minor players such as David DeJesus, Dioner Navarro, Kevin Gregg and Carlos Villanueva.
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