Ben Brown’s latest performance highlighted the need the Chicago Cubs have with their starting rotation before the trade deadline on July 31. He gave up six earned runs in Chicago’s 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
The Cubs looked at two starting pitchers this week, Sawyer Gipson-Long of the Detroit Tigers and Zack Eflin of the Baltimore Orioles.
The trade market is waiting for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, there are a couple of updates from two teams that could be looking to trade by the deadline.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are getting “swarmed” with calls from general managers right now. Starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are of interest. However, the Diamondbacks’ 35-34 record means the team isn’t ready to have a fire sale just yet.
“The D-backs (35-34) still are contenders,” Nightingale wrote. “As long as the D-backs still have a legitimate shot, they are making it clear they are not interested in breaking up the band.”
Sandy Alcantara is No. 1 option
A few weeks ago, it seemed Sandy Alcantara was an easier option for the Cubs to land this summer than it appeared earlier in March and April when he was linked to them because of Alcantara’s struggles. Nightengale wrote he’s target No. 1 for MLB teams amid a better streak of starts for the veteran pitcher.
“Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is starting to look like himself again after undergoing Tommy John surgery, with his fastball (97.6-mph) and command returning just in time to get traded,” Nightengale wrote. “Alcantara, who’s yielding a 1.50 ERA in his last two starts compared to 8.47 in his first 11 starts, should be the No. 1 trade piece on the market.”
Based on the two reports from Nightingale, the prices for starting pitchers are going up in June. The Cubs might have to wait for some teams to start falling out of contention before they execute a trade.
Before Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs enjoyed a 43-28 record, good enough for a 5.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for second place in the NL Central.
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