Chicago was on the wrong end of an 18-5 embarrassment against Pittsburgh on Monday, a defeat that dropped the Cubs to 45-40. They’re now 16-22 since they sat a season-best 11 games over .500 on May 22. Although they’ve underwhelmed for a little over a two months, the Cubs are just a game back in a National League Central division mired in mediocrity. With the July 31 trade deadline coming up, Chicago predictably has the mindset of a buyer.
General manager Jed Hoyer shed light on a couple needs the front office is looking to address this month, saying Monday (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times): “Certainly providing some depth offensively is something we’ll look at carefully. And looking at left-handed relief is something we’ll do. Kyle Ryan’s doing a great job, and we’ve used him a lot. [Mike Montgomery} is not your prototypical left-on-left guy; we use him more for length. So that’s something to look at.”
Regarding the former, Wittenmyer points to second base as a position the Cubs could attempt to improve in the coming weeks. They’ve gotten dreadful offensive production at the keystone from primary options Daniel Descalso and Addison Russell, though the multi-positional David Bote has logged decent numbers and fellow utilityman Ben Zobrist could return from the restricted list later in 2019. Zobrist has been out since early May, and he didn’t perform well even before going on leave to deal with personal matters. The Cubs have yet another potential in-house option in Ian Happ, though the 2017-18 staple has struggled since a preseason minor league demotion and hasn’t earned a recall as a result.
If the Cubs do seek a second baseman from outside this summer, they might not find a vast selection. The Royals’ Whit Merrifield is a trade candidate, but they may value him more than another team. Ex-Cub and current Marlin Starlin Castro, the Mariners’ Dee Gordon and the Giants’ Joe Panik represent potentially on-the-move veterans, though they’re all enduring terrible seasons. The Orioles’ Jonathan Villar, the Blue Jays’ Eric Sogard and the Reds’ Derek Dietrich (if they deal him, let alone to a division rival) stand out as a few other second basemen who are enjoying better seasons and could find new homes this month. There’s hardly a slam-dunk answer among that trio, however.
Meantime, while the Cubs just signed proven closer Craig Kimbrel, his addition did nothing to address their lack of lefty options. Ryan has been good, especially against same-handed hitters, but as Hoyer mentioned, Montgomery’s not a traditional late-game reliever. Beyond that, Montgomery has struggled mightily this year. While the Cubs do have veteran southpaw relievers in the minors in Randy Rosario, Tim Collins and Brian Duensing, there’s not a confidence-inspiring hurler in the group.
The question is: Whom could Chicago acquire to solve its problems? The Indians’ Brad Hand is the obvious name, but even if they were to trade the ultra-valuable closer, the Cubs would have trouble parlaying a below-average farm system into a winning bid. The same applies to the Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez, whom they seem inclined to keep. The Nationals’ Sean Doolittle and Giants southpaws Will Smith and Tony Watson could also be difficult to obtain. The Pirates’ Francisco Liriano and the Royals’ Jake Diekman are among other possible options for the Cubs, though the former may be an unrealistic target if the Buccos plan to push for an NL Central crown.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted a couple weeks ago, money figures to play an important role for the Cubs around the deadline. The team had an understated offseason because it claimed it was tapped out financially. The Cubs have slogged through a so-so campaign since then, though, and they seem to realize they’re in need of outside aid with the deadline approaching.
I think this trade would be good for both clubs:
Eric Sogard to the Cubs for RHP prospects Thomas Hatch and Tyson Miller. The Blue Jays need young, controllable pitching depth and the Cubs need a 2B. What do you guys think?
Sogard? Lol
Look at his numbers. He’s having a career year.
Yeah maybe one of those pieces. Not like there will be a bidding war for Sogard. Do like the fit though. He is familiar with the division. Bigger problem is finding quality pitching right now. Especially in bullpen. All the BP lefties are going to be expensive per usual trade deadline.
Why would they want to get worse at 2nd. They might as well call up happ.
A guy hitting 313, 380 OBP, 888 OPS 9 Hrs, 6 SB with solid defense in 240 PA is getting worse? If that is the case then why are they even looking for a replacement lol
If rather the Cubs not get left over baggage of the brewers.
Yeah look at Sogard’s career numbers. He’s not an upgrade from Russell. He’s had a good year but this isn’t the real Sogard. The ask isn’t crazy but this doesn’t solve the problem and takes up a roster spot.
Actually not a bad suggestion but I don’t think Sogard has the track record to acquire 2 minor leaguers
Wow. I didn’t realize this club had so many holes. Thanks for the great article Connor Byrne!
I don’t think there’s a ton of holes. It’s just there isn’t a ton of resources to fill the current holes. Need 1-2 BP arms definitely one of them a lefty. 2B and leadoff have been atrocious. Need to get better with runners on 2nd less than 2 outs. The starters need to get healthy too
Cubs have lost 13 of last 17 road games.
Hamels out estimated 6-8 weeks.
They ought to be sellers at the trade deadline.
Clearly they have issues.
Can’t argue with some of the facts that you stated. Additionally, who knows how Hendricks will respond from his injury. Toss in an aging Lester, though the guys a gamer and a fragile Darvish, the 2nd half can be troubling. As far as becoming sellers? Rhetorical question: Who do the Cubs trade for help? There’s not much there on the MLB team that is unless you consider the core players Bryant, Baez, Contreras and I’ll also include Rizzo. Schwarber may the the only player that can provide value from a trade. Beyond that. The Cubs have mix of underperforming, high priced veterans-Darvish for one. Or somewhat younger players that have not reached their potential-Russell, Almora, Happ.
Theres no way Hamels is out that long.. 3 weeks tops. Where’d you hear 6-8.weeks. that’s false and info
AM670 “experts”
Yeah I saw 4-6. Why would you sell when you’re 1 game out? This makes no sense, even if you’re a Sox fan and down on the Cubs…
3.5 out of more likely last place finish!!!
I can’t believe it took you 15 minutes to comment on a Cubs story what were you sleeping? I know you have to get up early for day care in the morning but man get with it you’re falling off your game!
I looked through all 4 or 5 White Sox posts over the last few days (actually kind of a lot for such an irrelevant team) and you posted a grand total of two posts. One you said and I quote “Thanks?” As a response to somebody and that was it.
The other was a longer sentence but couldn’t be completed without talking about the Cubs in it. Do you even like the Sox? Forget what I said earlier I bet you can’t name 3 players on the Southside.
And yet if there is a mention of a Cubs player in a headline you’ll be on in a flash. I think a few screws may be loose up there!
Yo, you have got wait too much time on your hands, ncaachampillini.
Hahaha “I’m goin to type an upset message about this guys upsetting message, muahaha I’ve solidly burned him in an online comment section, my life if goin really well!”
His life sux.
Last Illini NCAA championship was Men’s Gymnastics 2012.
Before that it was Men’s Tennis (2003).
Before that 1989 Men’s Gymnastics again.
What a life… what a chump.
What a joke.
Joparx hope you realize you literally did the exact same thing lol.
What a “chump”!
Ncaachamps comment just proves that Cubs fans are softer than baby poo.
The Bobsy twins everyone! Back to back let’s give them a hand. They’re just trying to kill time til the Sox start maybe possibly getting in the ballpark of .500 so the south side can party.
Exhausting policing you two clowns.
Is that all u got?!!!!!
Chump.
I love how much anger there is in cubbytown. Their “dynasty” crumbling before their eyes, and the powerhouse White Sox the talk of the town. Keep replying, I love the cubbie angst.
You heard it here first everyone and I quote “powerhouse white Sox!”
27th in MLB in runs
22nd in OPS
25th in homers
26th in defense
26th in ERA
26th in batting average against
dead last in pitcher K’s
1st in nitwit fans!
Brewers fan here,
I have heard from Cubs fans that WhiteSox fans are predominantly exconvicts. I have heard from WhiteSox fans that Cubs fans are primarily homosexuals. Are any of these stereotypes true in any way?
Does any one really believe a new second baseman is the solution? There is no guarantee that a new addition will ever play, Cargo sure didn’t last long and when he did play he was double switched with as defensive upgrade? Joe’s going to play Albert and Bote. DFA the 4th OF to carry 14 pitchers but don’t use them.
Did anyone watching Sundays game vs. the Reds see the mass Exodus of Cub fans in the 8th inning. That was all they camera seemed to show. The waves of blue falling into line leaving the stadium. The problem is not with the players, it is the management of the players. Cub fans want this group to succeed and excuses are getting tired and repetitive. Never once has this manager taken any responsibility as to how the them performs. Cubs need to make the managerial change,
Maddon literally THE best manager in baseball.
Maddon could be the best manager, but he’s gotten bored in Chicago. He needs a new club to turn around.
“Maddon literally THE best manager in baseball.” If you do t believe it, just ask him!
I believe it.
It’s Epstein not Einstein. Many poor decisions and evidently another on the way. Do NOT trade Robel, hes the solution at second. The braintrust in the front office hands away great talent while undervalues. attitude in favor of stats only. That does NOT make a great manager. Hire David Ross!
Robel looks interesting, but k’ing at over 30 Pct in AAA isnt encouraging.
Cubs fans upset because they’re not dominating!
What a sea change!
At least all the dynasty talk has ended.
As bad as that sounds (morale wise) firing Joe and putting someone else might work. He’s a lame duck as is. The cardinals made the move last year with Schildt and the team rallied big time. I don’t know who gets promoted to manager, but the new pitching coach hasn’t been bad. I just looked at heywards stats and this is the player they thought they signed .270/.360/.470. The pitching is hurting and faltering a lot. Maybe the break will do wonders for the team as far as rest. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind 3-4 roster moves. Should DFA descalso, option almora, and bring up a couple producers from AAA, or even Happ at this point. Give them this week to inject energy before break. Not liking this cubs team right now. They’re lucky to be where they’re at in the standings. The division is of the utmost importance and without looking up divisional stats, I’m pretty sure the cubs have sucked vs them this year.
Yep, the Cards rallied into a 12-15 September and rallied home to play golf.
47-46 with Matheny and 41-28 with Schildt. It’s easy to pick and choose stats but his point is very valid, they were a much better team after Schildt came on board last year.
Now why they won so many games after the change is a debatable point, but the records are pretty cut and dry.
Have a little faith. Option Almora? No. Bring up Robel in place of Descalso? Maybe. But he’s not going to get a lot of playing time with Bote and Russell there. And neither would have LaStella.
Robin Ventura available and a big improvement over Madman.
Cant be serious.
You must not be watching…!!!
Demote Almora to promote Ian Crapp? That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have heard. Almora is a .250 hitter at the bigs and his BABIP would suggest he has hit into a lot of bad luck and will improve… Happ is hitting a whopping .217 in the freaking MINORS. He would be hitting under .200 against big leaguers. Not to mention Almora is the FAR superior defender. The only thing Happ has done better this year is his OBP is .043 points higher, but again against minor league pitching.
Couple of points.
1- Addy Russell hasn’t been dreadful. .252/.318/.735 isn’t great but hardly what i would call dreadful.
2- Kyle Ryan is horrible, not “doing a great job”. His ERA is very misleading since he hasn’t met an inherited runner on base he hasn’t let score yet.
3 – Joe needs to go. His handling of the bullpen and pulling every starter out after 5 innings has burned out an underwhelming bullpen. His cute lineup changes are old. He needs to constantly remind everyone he is the smartest man in the room with his asinine playing position players out of position.
Are the Cubs a great team? No. They are average but good enough to win the division with a new decent manager, a decent lefty bullpen arm, and a couple bench bats that can bat over .180.
Idk if this would be a trade either team would even do and Ik this isn’t common but reds cubs trade
R. Iglesias and dd for
Ian happ or bote, Amaya, Alex Lange, and Oscar de la Cruz
The NL Central is the one division in baseball that nobody wants to win. It’s all about who wants to not win the most while still being able to pretend like they tried. Everyone is just so excited about the possibility of getting the entire month of October off work.
Since tomorrow is July 2nd and there are 4 full weeks before the deadline, it would makes sense to me that they bring up Happ and see how he does before they consider trading for a 2nd base guy. If in 2-3 weeks he isn’t cutting it, then try and address it via trade. They got Kimbrel so why go all in on a high cost lefty when there are plenty of guys that they could get for a lot less than Brad Hand or Smith.
No need to bring up Happ. He is hitting .217 in the minors. He isn’t going to fare any better against big league pitchers. Should have traded him 3 years ago when he had value.
I just don’t think people quite understand why the Cubs are average. When they won the WS, it was due to a combination of talent, luck (staying healthy), and most of their talent having career years. Look at everyone who played on that team and see all of the stars aligned.
The Cubs are not a WS contender currently. Sure, they could throw even more money at the problem, but that clearly hasn’t worked.
The Cubs have won 95, 92, 103, and 97 games over the last 4 years, and are currently 45-40. Explain to me how that is average given the sample size.
Right. Let’s all listen to the holier than thou, Yankee homer.
Don’t listen to bandwagon Yanks fans!
Regular season wins aren’t impressive. Keep thinking you’re a dynasty. The Cubs aren’t winning the WS again any time soon.
I mean, all that, 1 World Series, 3 NLCS appearances… not claiming to be a dynasty, but you’re claiming all that is average.
If the Cubs can pull it off, they should trade for Villar and Bleier from the Orioles. Villar would fit in nicely as the leadoff hitter and 2B, and Bleier is an excellent lefty for their bullpen. Make it happen Elias!
Sure, Villar is reasonable. Not gonna bring a huge haul back but this the kind of move the Cubs would make. Although that OBP may not play under this regime.
Cubs would probably only take a flier on Bleier (hee hee) if he has options. The Cubs are looking for a shutdown lefty, they’ve got plenty of Bleier’s listed above, and he’s been terrible anyway.
Now is the perfect time to take a flier on Bleier. He has finally come around and is pitching now just like he was pitching before his terrible lat tear injury last year. Tough as nails, just got a 2 inning save.
Villar is a natural leadoff hitter in the mold of Brian Roberts. A switch-hitter with huge speed. Orioles have him batting 6th a lot this year, but imo should bat him leadoff all the time.
I think both Bleier and Villar would be even better if they were on a winning team. And they might not cost more than a few specs altogether.
I agree, but where do you put him? Not in the MLB bullpen… who do you move-option?
Move/option?
I have no idea – Orioles fan here. Suppose Cubs send a righty bullpen piece with options down to AAA and put Bleier in MLB bullpen.
since when is a guy with a .326 OBP a nice leadoff hitter?
Villar currently has an OBP of .362 when batting left-handed vs. Righty pitching.And he can dominate a game like Rickey Henderson used to. Even as a platoon piece he is better than all the other Cubs 2B. He’d be perfect starting against Righties or coming off the bench in late innings against a righty closer to manufacture a run with his smallball ways and incredible speed.
This team has not performed to the level of its talent for a few years now. It also employs a lame duck manager who won’t be returning next season without at least a World Series appearance in 2019. I don’t see that happening with the Dodgers in the NL or with Joe Maddon in the dugout. The Cubs should cut bait with the “genius” during the All-Star break, regroup with a new voice and at least lose one of those two barriers to the promised land before this season is history.
I’ve been quite vocal on the recent decline of the cubs. As I see it, there are two major obstacles killing the club right now:
1. Lack of depth. The cubs have let guys like Fowler and La Stella walk for lesser options. Say what you won’t about Fowler’s performance in St. Louis, but he was uniquely suited as leadoff hitter for the cubs. They haven’t done a good job of replacing his contact, power and base running at the top of that lineup. La Stella can flat out rake, and gave them a ton of flexibility off the bench. They also lost all of their minor league depth via some desperate trades that set them back for years to come. Namely, Gleyber Torres. He really should be playing 2B for them right now, but I digress. These are three impact players the cubs will not be able to replace given their lack of trade assets and salary commitments.
2. Declining rotation. Too many starters with declining velo. Hendricks’ control makes this less of a concern, but the other starters get crushed anywhere in the strike zone. If you’re not painting the corners for called strikes, and you can’t challenge hitters over the plate, that’s a wrap for you.
There is no short term, tactical solution for the cubs at this point. Management needs to get ahead of this thing and blow the roster up. Contreras and Baez are your core, talent wise. Rizzo is the heart and soul, and should be retained on a club friendly contract. Everyone else is expendable, and should be shopped in order to start a rebuild next season. It’s not what the organization or the fans want, but it is inevitable.
Cubs don’t win the World Series Torres isn’t traded for Chapman.
What about Bryant? I don’t follow the NL as closely as I could. Has he fallen out of favor?
He’s an AllStar. I gVe no problems with Kris on the Cubs.
Overrated
OK.
Bryant is an all star, far from overrated.
Wasn’t voted in.
Not that good.
Definitely not a leader.
Very much overrated especially in the Windy City. As much hype as Bryant gets he should be putting up offensive numbers like Yelich, Bellinger and Trout.
He still made the team…
He isn’t good, he’s great. Take off the homer glasses and actually learn baseball, chump. KB would be the best player on the sox for years and years.
As of right now, there can be a good debate with who is playing better right now between Bryant and Moncada. Their 2019 numbers are very identical. The only difference this Moncada’s second full season and this Bryant’s fifth full season.
Bryant sux tonight with 4 more K’s!
They ought to cut him from the All Star squad.
Cubs LOSE AGAIN!!!!!
White Sox fans be like: Can’t lose if you don’t play! Didn’t Bustcada lead the league in K’s last year?
Maybe last year.
2 HRs yesterday.
Bust out year this year.
This is not a 78 win team. You don’t blow it up when you got guys who’ve won it before and can do it again. Most of these guys are under control through 2021.
Correct, they are a 70 win team.
70, 70, 70 wins annually through 2021.
AKA, one the White Sox better seasons. .
70 wins sounds like a great season for the white sox!
Don’t both teams have the same amount of championships in the past 100 years? The Cubs just happen to have a good stretch of baseball currently.
And the Cubs are right there with them.
Cubbies will be in Sox rear view mirror next year. Cubbies stuck with hundreds of $MIL of crappy contracts for years to come.
Keep dreaming, delusion at its finest folks.
I know they have the same amount of losses this season right now!!
The Cubs have issues with the starting pitching. Jon Lester’s best days are behind him. Yu Darvish was overpaid. Hamels might miss significant time. Hendricks is probably being rushed with his shoulder issue with Hamels being out. Alzolay is the only option the Cubs have in AAA and he is not ready.
Don’t be surprised if one or two guys on the current roster would be moved from now into the offseason to revitalize the farm system. Don’t forget the Cubs have to pay both Bryant and Baez in a few years and they expect big contracts.
They’ll paying Baez. They’ll be paying Contreras. Both deservedly so.
They’ll probably be paying Rizzo both because he’s good and they owe him for this insanely cheap contract they got him for for all these years.
I don’t see KB happening. He would need to prove that he can get back to being the guy who won Prep player of the year, Minor league player of the year, Rookie of the year and MVP and a World Series champ in consecutive years. That guy was worth $300 million. This version is not that guy. Just like this version of Harper isn’t worth it.
If they’re gonna offer a 3B $250 million + I’d rather it be to Rendon in the offseason.
I hate saying all that but right now that seems fair.
That’s why I believe the Cubs are going to try to move Bryant or Baez for some prospects along with a guy like Schwarber. There is no way the Cubs can afford the demands for both Baez and Bryant.
That can wait until 2021.
What do you think you’ll get for Schwarber? He’s a career .230 hitter with an OBP under .340 and he’s a comedy act in the OF? He’s a poor man’s Adam Dunn
An American League team in need of a DH can always swing trade for Schwarber. The Cubs are not going to get a high ranked prospect for him but it is the fact of moving him to open up a spot in the outfield. Bryant or Baez are the guys with value that can retool the Cubs’ farm system. Like I said the Cubs need starting pitching, especially a young arm or two.
Bryant so good you can’t wait to trade him away.
I am a Sox fan! I think Bryant is good but definitely overrated. He is not the player that the Cubs thought he was hyped to be.
Now BeeVeeTee you are a Sox fan with actual legit sensible opinions. That’s a welcome relief around here!
I know quiet a few Cubs’ fans who agree with me about Bryant. The Cubs did fine last year when Bryant missed significant time with a shoulder injury.
I’m very surprised he didn’t mention a starting pitcher as well. Their starting five is definitely a viable major league rotation, but an injury and dead-arm stretch later and that becomes a pretty significant weakness. Still a month to go here, but I would be very surprised if they don’t try to add to both the bp and rotation, that seems to be more of a concern to me than the offense
The cubs have made bad financial decisions (Heyward, Darvish) while spending boatloads rebuilding the stadium. They’ve got a network windfall, presumably, coming next season that most likely won’t be realized until 2021.
So, I believe they believe 2016 bought them some time. My guess is there’s a Girardi-type replacement for Maddon and Baez, Bryant and Rizzo will continue to be the core. But that’s it. I really don’t see another run in this group unless some of the youth miraculously turns it up a few notches.
Almora is never going to be a big-league hitter. Russell isn’t either. Happ isn’t either. Bote isn’t either. Schwarber is never going to hit over 250. Hell, Bryant might never hit 300 again.
They’ve got an experiment at pitching coach who could be the son of half their staff.
Theo was certainly seen as a savior type because of ‘16, but I’m starting to believe those who said the credit given him for Boston’s success was wildly overblown.
Bryant was never a .300 hitter, and his stats this year are just as good (on track for a few less HRs and RBIs) as they were his MVP Season. He is back to being his normal .290/.390/.500+ player. People were just expecting him to continue to get better from his MVP season, and honestly I think that is why people believe he has declined. Look at his stats, he is on pace to be as good has he has in 2016 and 2017.
Bryant’s numbers were never the same since Fowler left for the Cardinals. Bryant batting behind Fowler helped him out a lot in 2015 and 2016. Fowler was playing his best baseball those two years to get a contract and Bryant was getting pitches to hit. Plus, Bryant was getting his best numbers off of the Reds’ pitching those two years who were full of guys that should have been in A or AA ball. Every hitter was getting great numbers from them and the stats don’t lie. Look it up!
I have looked it up. Compared to his 2016 campaign. His AVG is .007 lower, his OBP is up .014, his SLG is down .009, OPS down .006. Virtually identical splits. Like is said his HRs and RBIs are down (but RBIs can be factored to batting second behind a lead off man who never gets on). As far as all other stats he is on track for more Runs, Hits, 2B, BB, and fewer Ks. Not to mention. that his wRC is on pace to be the best of his career, WAR should be the same as 2016. So please tell me again how he has digressed? Stats don’t lie, and his show that he is as good a hitter as he was his MVP season.
So it only took you a few minutes to look up those statistics and compare Bryant’s numbers from this year and the last two years with comparison to 2015 and 2016? Bryant isn’t the elite player he is being advertised as by the media when you look at his numbers. Bryant’s exit velocity is down due to possible shoulder issues. Plus, he is an easy out since he gets fooled by good pitches and he loves to swing for the fences (can be a reason behind his exit velocity being down).
His exit velo is down 1 MPH from his MVP season and up from his 2017 campaign, that many argue was better than his MVP season. He is nearly a .300/.400/.500 guy. There are very few people in the league that can say that. He is only swinging at 22.6% of balls out of the zone. His previous career best was 2017 at 27.2%. So he has been fooled by far less pitches this year than ever. Your argument is really holding no water. Bryant was considered an Elite hitter in 2016 even 2017 and is having just as good of a season this year.
I guess Bryant striking out four times this evening validates his greatness!
The Cubs current tailspin aligns almost perfectly with the departure of Zobrist and arrival of Russell. It could be a coincidence, but maybe it’s not. The players have voiced frustration in the past about playing time limitations and constant lineup shuffling. Maybe Theo and Jed need to look carefully at team chemistry, and potentially try to consolidate some assets. It’s tough because I like our team on paper, but the results haven’t been there consistently. Maybe it’s time to shake things up a little.
It’s a.coincidence.
The cubs don’t HAVE the prospects for whit (and Dayton would want actual prospects, not a man with a history of domestic issues) Why don’t they actually develop their own players? When will they realize they need to refill that farm?
Hard to refill the farm when a team is in its widow of serious championship considerations once that widow is shut they well start to sell of pieces to rebuild the farm system
The dodgers seem to stay competitive every year while also having a top farm system to pull from. That’s just an excuse that the cubs use
Bryant so good you can’t wait to trade him away.
“Widow”?
The ideal acquisitions in my mind would be
Jeff McNeil to play second or left
(We seriously need someone who doesn’t strike out much)
Whit Merrifield to play second or outfield
(Speed heading in the wrong direction (7CS) but this team needs a spark)
considering that our SPs maybe fine after the break.
The prospects whit would require do not exist in the cubs farm
Disagree, it would require the Cubs getting rid of more than they want. A package centered around Nico Horner (a top 50 prospect) who projects more as a 2nd baseman and Miguel Amaya (a top 75 prospect and 4th best catching prospect) would be a good starting spot. They have enough, but it would deplete completely a already diminished farm system.
The Cubs need to retool their farm with prospects and not get rid of their best prospects right now. The Royals just drafted Bobby Witt Jr., so I don’t see why they would trade Merrifield for Hoerner who plays the same position as Witt Jr. when their looking to rebuild to compete in three to five year.
IMO second base might be an option for nico,the kid can rake wait a couple weeks to insure his wrist is good,he is already on rehab assignment.At 22 I think he can handle it.Then see if you can upgrade the bp with caratini as bait,he is probably the best mlb ready talent you can afford to trade that should draw interest.Almora also may draw interest because of his de skills.
Russel and Happ for MadBum
Lay down the pipe! The Giants want to rebuild on talent and not castaways!
throw in heyward, giants like old outfielders
Sogard wouldn’t command a ton. Would have to dangle Ken Giles too IF the Cubs want to bolster their bullpen some more. Package the two. Blue Jays need a CF, and I would inquire about Happ. Then the Jays would have to offload some OFs in a different trade.
They need a new GM and President
Cubs lack a true lead off hitter and are too top heavy power hitters at the top of the lineup. Unconventional from Maddon, but if the speed players are at the top of the order, maddon can slot the power players down the line.,
Agree. That’s why more than any other move they could make it feels like Merrifeld would help realign this offense more than anything else. Plus it gets Addison the heck out of dodge as he is utterly helpless at the plate right now.
No one wants the Cubs garbage
Speaking of a new President of Baseball——As long as the Cardinals have John Mozeliak as their President of baseball operations——-Never worry about the Cardinals’ record being much over .500. The DeWitt’s are blind as to what and who their problem is——Mozeliak. At least others—Cubs & Diamondbacks—-sees their problems and immediately try to fix it. Mozeliak brings up rookies who are 2-3 years from being major league ready.
They need everything. They suck
They need to stop trading away minor league hotshots for nobodies. Bring up Robel.