The Chicago Cubs lost to the Kansas City Royals 8-4 on Wednesday, once again relinquishing full first place standing to the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division.
The most frustrating part of this slip to second place, however, may be the spotlight it focused on the Cubs’ weaknesses and liabilities everyone knew were already there.
In the series finale against the Royals, Colin Rea was touched up for 5 earned runs in 5 innings pitched. The performance tells the tale of a struggling back end of the starting rotation taking on more and more water as the Cubs ship heads further out to sea.
At this point, only games started by Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd are safe to be considered W-likely. Rea has been up and down, Cade Horton is a learning-on-the-job rookie, and Ben Brown has already fallen off the Cubs’ deck. Creatively-constructed bullpen games have not been productive.
So, Cubs fandom turns to the trade deadline for help in keeping the team’s deep-postseason hopes afloat.
“Desperate” Chicago Cubs pursue trade deadline starting pitching
Jesse Rogers of ESPN recently labeled the Cubs as “desperate” in their pursuit of rotation help, although the always-careful (sometimes frustratingly careful) front office is also keeping their eyes on the future, eschewing top prospects-for-a-rental deals.
Per Rogers:
“The Cubs are looking for a starting pitcher first and foremost, but won’t part with any top prospects for rentals. They would be willing to trade a young hitter for a cost-controlled pitcher or one already under contract past this season. They are desperate to add an arm who can help while Jameson Taillon recovers from a calf injury. Bullpen games in Taillon’s place haven’t gone well.”
Targets locked in?
Matthew Trueblood of Northside Baseball has identified Edward Cabrera of the Miami Marlins as one of the Cubs’ team-controlled targets. Per his sources, the Kansas City Royals’ Kris Bubic is on their radar as well, although concerns over his most recent start have made Cubs president Jed Hoyer pump the breaks a bit on pursuing him.
Per Trueblood:
“As recently as this weekend, sources close to the situation indicated that there was momentum between the Cubs and the Royals regarding lefty Kris Bubic. Right now, though, the team is doing more background work and waiting to see what Bubic’s next start looks like, after his velocity was down substantially in his first appearance of the second half. The Royals are another team who has been on the higher end with regard to Caissie, so if the Cubs want to make their dollar stretch on the trade market this summer, talking to both Kansas City and Miami about him makes sense.”
And out of nowhere…Dylan Cease?
And while the logical pursuit of young, team-controlled arms has filled up Chicago’s trade deadline rumor mill, this weird one was hurled in the online discourse– Dylan Cease, back to the Cubs?
Buster Olney of ESPN recently tweeted about the San Diego Padres, who have real postseason possibilities, making Cease available via trade for the right majors-ready assets to help fill their other roster holes.
Per Olney:
“A surprise name has emerged in the starting pitcher market: Dylan Cease, who will be eligible for free agency at year’s end. Perception of other teams is that the Padres are intent on making a push for the playoffs, and would use Cease to help fill other roster needs. Mets, AL East teams, Cubs among teams that have talked about him.”
The Cubs most definitely don’t have an impact position player to spare in such a deal with the Padres, but it IS well within the realm of crazy baseball possibility that Hoyer and company could offer up a package of prospects for a 3-way deal with the Padres and a third team. If the deal is sweet enough, maybe they’ll be okay with a rental in this particular case.
At this point, anything is worth considering because, at the risk of sounding like an alarmist, the Cubs need pitching help, fast.
Chicago Cubs ‘working hard’ on landing 2 pitchers: Report
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