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Report: Cubs, A's have discussed Reddick

Don Feria / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Having already improved their bullpen this week, adding Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery in separate trades, the division-leading Chicago Cubs are now keen to upgrade their outfield, too, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

Specifically, the Cubs have had trade discussions with the Oakland Athletics about right fielder Josh Reddick, the highly coveted 29-year-old who has also drawn interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians.

Though the Cubs came into the 2016 campaign with one of the game's most talented outfields, injuries and underperformance have thrown their outfield into disarray of late, with manager Joe Maddon rotating seven different players through his three outfield spots since July 10.

Willson Contreras, the catching prospect who made his MLB debut just over a month ago, appears to have taken over as Chicago's primary left fielder with Jorge Soler out due to injury, and newcomer Jason Heyward continues to struggle, going just 4-for-42 (.095) over his last dozen games. Ben Zobrist, who has seen much more time in the outfield lately, has also scuffled in recent weeks, hitting only .136 with a .548 OPS since the beginning of July.

Reddick, meanwhile, has enjoyed another solid season this year, albeit while missing almost six weeks with a fractured thumb, hitting .296/.373/.442 (124 OPS+) with seven homers and 10 doubles through 64 games.

An impending free agent, Reddick expressed his disappointment earlier this month that, after four months of discussions, the A's haven't managed to present him with an extension offer to his liking.

"It's kind of disheartening something hasn’t been worked out so far,” Reddick told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, “and we’ve been four months into it. It is what it is."

Reddick, who has spent the bulk of his eight-year career in Oakland, added that he would "love" to stay with the Athletics, but, he said, "if it can’t be worked out the way it should be, then obviously I'm not really somebody wanted here."

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