Gather close, dear reader, for the tale of Kyle Schwarber, he of the giant bat and mighty homers that echo still through the Midwestern night. It is a story of a man.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 2:47 PM The Yankees wanted Shohei Otani mostly for his pitching, but they were also willing to let him hit as a DH when he wasn’t on the mound, so his refusal to consider playing in the Bronx raises the question of who will get those at-bats. GM Brian Cashman could plan on dividing them up among his surplus of position players, but here’s a better idea: trade for Kyle Schwarber. Such a notion has been out there going back to the 2016 trade deadline, when the Yankees would have gladly taken Schwarber for Aroldis Chapman, except the Cubs weren’t about to give him up at the time, even though he was sidelined due to knee surgery. But now the time seems right and more realistic for a number of reasons: Above all, Schwarber is no longer off-limits. The Cubs were more than willing to find a position for him when it appeared he was going to be a superstar with the bat, but his defensive shortcomings aren’t nearly as easy to overlook after he hit.211 last season with 150 strikeouts in 129 games.

Of course, he still hit 30 home runs, but in this longball era of big-league baseball, that power has been devalued a bit. In addition, the Cubs are also loaded with young position players, and the emergence last season of rookie Ian Happ, a power-hitting switch-hitter who played infield and outfield, allows them more freedom to move Schwarber.

Kyle Schwarber's left-handed power could play up big in Yankee Stadium. (Denis Poroy/Getty Images) But obviously the Yankees don’t need him to play defense. And Schwarber at age 24 is still considered a dynamic hitter whose problems last year likely were related at least partly to missing nearly the entire 2016 season. As it was, he put together a solid second half, hitting.253 with 17 home runs and an.894 OPS.

Perhaps most significantly, the Cubs are in need of quality pitching in the bullpen as well as the starting rotation (assuming they don’t get Otani), with little help coming from their farm system, as they try to cash in on their window to win another championship with this group of young position players. So how about Dellin Betances and Chance Adams for Schwarber?

Rockstar Free Download Reece Mastin Shout here. Yankee fans might think it’s too much to give, since Betances is fully capable of overcoming his control issues and re-establishing himself as one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, and Adams is a major league-ready starter coming off two impressive minor-league seasons. But think of how Schwarber’s lefthanded power will play at the Stadium.