The Chicago Cubs are back from the All-Star break, done with the draft, and now ready to get down to the business of filling roster holes for what they hope to be a deep playoff run.
With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, buzz is everywhere regarding an aggressive Cubs front office and the moves they might make.
The latest buzz centers around the team’s efforts to get the best out of a shaky seller’s market by picking up multiple roster needs from one team.
One-stop trade deadline shopping for the Chicago Cubs?
Matthew Trueblood of North Side Baseball is reporting that, according to his sources, Chicago has been discussing multi-player deals with the Oakland A’s and Arizona Diamondbacks and that they are open to other outside the box trades involving multiple pickups.
Per Trueblood:
“They’ve already begun engaging teams about trades that would break out of the traditional box for July moves, by doing some one-stop shopping and/or by swapping current big-leaguers out for others.
Sources familiar with talks identified the Diamondbacks and the Athletics as teams with whom the Cubs have discussed multi-player deals in which they would check off more than one box on their shopping list.”
A’s, Diamondbacks, and others?
When it comes to the last-place A’s, the possible names of interest would be starter Luis Severino, reliever Mason Miller, and infielder Luis Urias.
The 31-year-old Severino sports an ugly 5.16 ERA in 20 starts this season, but a good deal of that ugliness may be coming from the A’s temporary move to Sacramento and the poor conditions of that park. Severino’s road ERA this season is a much more palatable 3.04. Cubs president Jed Hoyer may see him as one of those players whose numbers don’t tell the full tale and who would respond favorably to a change of atmosphere. The 10-year veteran’s contract might be a bit of a catch as he’s making $20 million this year and set to make $25 million the next, with a $22 million player option for 2027.
Miller is a stud of a reliever whose 4.04 ERA is not as damning as it would appear. Half of his earned runs allowed this season come from two poor outing in May. Excluding those two performances, his season ERA is 2.09 and he hasn’t allowed an earned run since June 20. Once believed to be an untouchable asset, the A’s are reportedly softening on the possibility of dealing the 26-year-old, who is under team control for four more (arbitration-eligible) years.
Urias, a free agent at the end of this season, would be picked up as a third baseman, but can also play second base and shortstop. He’d be part of a deal as a replacement for Matt Shaw or, at the very least, as one more puzzle piece for third base.
As for the Diamondbacks, the Cubs’ targets are much more obvious.
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez would bring an elite right-handed power bat to the already potent Cubs lineup. The All-Star slugger is eligible for free agency at the end of this season.
The other Arizona targets are starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, who will both become free agents this offseason. Kelly is having a better season than Gallen, with an ERA more than two points lower (3.34 vs. 5.40). Both right-handers, however, could prove to be quality assets in a strained Cubs starting rotation.
The A’s or D-backs trade packages differ in that Arizona is offering nothing but rentals, whereas Oakland could be sending back two pitchers under team control beyond 2025.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins could also be in the mix when it comes to one-stop trade partners.
The asking price
In such a large multi-player deal, though, it’s likely that the Cubs would have to trade away a field-ready (or near field-ready) asset as well as prospects. Could Matt Shaw, Ben Brown, or even Cade Horton be part of such a deal, along with a top prospect such as Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, or Kevin Alcantara?
Things should get interesting over the next several days.
Chicago Cubs sit atop power ranking to open second half
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