There is no need for the Cubs to include Belli or Brown in this deal, imo. Imanaga for Mayo feels like a real trade. Mayo looks like a great prospect, but he’s still a prospect. Imanaga has been excellent, with a couple hiccups, but he’s got a lot of mileage on his 30 year old arm. My guess is that ages well and continues to pitch effectively.

Everything you just said about Mayo, with the exception of having to overpay, would also apply to Imanaga, if he's even on the market. Not to say that GM's never overpay. The best example of that is Theoverrated Epstein, who really did damage to the Cubs system and also helped win a pennant with the acquisition of Chapman at the 2016 deadline, followed by his trade for Quintana. It was really a 1 and out move. There are" lopsided" deals, like the recent Civale deal, which I just posted some comments on, earlier today. Which was probably the right move for the Rays. Jed Hoyer said, "He tries to win every deal," and to be fair he has made some good trades and FA acquisitions. But he has struck out way more than he has gotten on base. I think that is the wrong mindset. The fairest deals are when teams trade from positions of strength to address weaknesses. Cubs have starting pitching. Orioles have a farm system stocked with IF talent. No reason for either team to cave. If I were a real GM and it's getting to be crunch time, like now, and I felt that it was more important to the other GM to win than make a fair transaction, which might benefit both clubs, I wouldn't even make the call.

Not forgetting anything. What about Bregman? I just posted something about signing him on another thread. I still think he's an elite hitter, unless there's some injury I don't know about. His demand will be less because of the down year. There will be a lot more competition for Fried, and the other P's. Plus, Shaw is anywhere from 1-1.5 years away. Ke'Bryan Hayes year is a mystery, but he may be a target as well. I'd love to have Mayo, but he's too pricey, imo. Horton for Mayo, maybe.