Cubs' Epstein downplays Schwarber trade rumors

Kyle Schwarber better get comfortable on the North Side of Chicago.

Asked Friday about the possibility of moving Schwarber to upgrade his bullpen ahead of the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein all but crushed any notion of moving the injured 24-year-old.

"I'm looking forward to Kyle Schwarber - who got hurt in a Cubs uniform and is working his ass off in a Cubs uniform - coming back and hitting a very big home run in a Cubs uniform sometime very early next season," Epstein told reporters, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.

Last month, Schwarber's name surfaced in a report connecting him to the New York Yankees, but sources told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Cubs weren't interested in parting with Schwarber - who suffered a season-ending knee injury on April 7 - to acquire left-hander Andrew Miller.

With Schwarber off the table, though, Epstein admitted there hasn't been much traction in trade talks so far, and also noted that "it's pretty rare that you rebuild a bullpen midseason through big-ticket items.

"We're talking to clubs, just trying to see who might be available and where we might have matches,” Epstein said. “But there’s nothing real imminent. There’s usually a flurry of activity around (this time). Despite the trades today, I think it might end up being more of a slow-developing market. We’ll see. We’re not close to anything.”