After losing the series finale against the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central.
The Brewers just keep finding ways to win. They have won 10 straight games and have come back from a six-and-a-half game deficit in the division over the last few weeks.
Even though the Cubs have the easiest remaining schedule, Chicago needs to get a starter that’s capable of starting a playoff game and would benefit from a third base offensive upgrade.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic released an article regarding where all 30 teams stand with 10 days remaining before the trade deadline.
Bowden noted that the Cubs have been linked to seven starting pitchers and two third basemen.
“The Cubs’ top priority is acquiring a starting pitcher and their targets include the Pirates’ Mitch Keller, the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, and the Orioles’ Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano,” wrote Bowden.
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“They would love to land a third baseman such as the Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suárez or the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, among others. Like most contending teams, the Cubs also would like to add depth to their bullpen.”
While most of the pitchers named have been frontline starters before, Alcantara and Gallen have the worst and third-worst ERA out of qualified starters.
Keller would be the best bet, but acquiring him would require a haul, given that he is on a team-friendly contract and on a division rival.
Adding Suárez would be a home run for the Cubs, but with so many other teams interested in the slugger, the Cubs would need to win a bidding war.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that nobody is untouchable, including top prospect Owen Caissie.
The Cubs definitely have the assets to get a blockbuster deal done and will need to do everything they can to go all-in in what could be Kyle Tucker’s only season in Chicago.
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