Cubs' Jed Hoyer Says Willson Contreras Trade Rumors Are 'Fictional'

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer called the rumors about the Chicago Cubs shopping veteran catcher Willson Contreras "fictional" on Wednesday, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. 

On Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted that the Cubs were "extensively shopping" Contreras:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post also reported on Dec. 3 that the Cubs were "very open" to trading the veteran catcher. And on Wednesday, a number of reporters hinted that the Cubs might still be interested in dealing Contreras despite Hoyer's comments:

And then there was this from Contreras:

Read into that what you will.

The 28-year-old catcher hit .243 with seven homers and 26 RBI in 57 games last season. The two-time All-Star and has spent his entire five-year MLB career with the Cubs, helpling lead them to their first title since 1908 in the 2016 season.

If the Cubs are willing to move Contreras—despite Hoyer's insistence to the contrary—he would be a logical target for teams that need to address catcher but miss out on J.T. Realmuto in free agency. 

But it would also leave no doubt that the Cubs are in fire-sale mode after already trading Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini and non-tendering Kyle Schwarber. This from a team that won the NL Central last season and plays in a major market like Chicago. This could be a very rough offseason for Cubs fans.