Jed Hoyer Discusses Cubs’ Needs

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.