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Last night, the Cubs lost a 2-1 game to the Reds after loading the bases up in the 8th without scoring and leaving the game-tying and winning run on base in the 9th. This coming after a night the Cubs scored 15 runs on this same Reds team.
Simply put: The Cubs need someone to drive in runners.
The Cubs have the middle of the order in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo doing their part to score runs, who are both have an OPS near .900 or more. But it’s the rest of this lineup that seems to struggle to push across runs, especially in crucial moments. Too many times this season have the Cubs started an inning with a Kris Bryant single and an Anthony Rizzo walk, with the next three batters doing nothing at the plate.
When Willson Contreras was healthy and on his incredible tear, the Cubs looked like they had found their RBI-guy in Willy. But with him sitting out the next month of baseball, the Cubs are still waiting for another guy to step up in their lineup. Javier Baez has shown flashes of being that guy, with 18 home runs and 54 RBI’s, but there’s a reason Baez was bunting last night with runners on and no outs.
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However, there are a few options via trade the Cubs could consider, one of them being Chicago-native and current New York Met Curtis Granderson. The 36-year-old outfielder, while not exactly tearing the cover off the ball with a .228 batting average, has been one of the better hitters in baseball with runners on base.
Curtis Granderson hits a 2-run home run for his 17th home run of the season!!! #LGM pic.twitter.com/DEL7cM9HZS
— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB_) August 13, 2017
Granderson is batting .275 with runners in scoring position with 26 RBI’s for the lowly Mets, who are currently 18 games out of 1st place in the NL East. He currently has 18 home runs, with 10 of them coming with runners on base, and has driven in 57 runs so far this season – which would be good for 3rd on the Cubs roster.
He is currently the leagues slowest center fielder, but current Cub Jon Jay is the 2nd slowest and we’ve seen Jay make excellent defensive plays in center or in the corners. It’s not hard to imagine Granderson handling himself in left field.
While the Mets will not just giveaway Granderson, the club knows he holds more value for other teams than theirs, and would be willing to part with him for likely a mid-tier prospect. The Mets have already moved another power-hitting outfielder in Jay Bruce last week to the Indians. The return for Bruce was smaller, reliever Ryder Ryan, but the Indians also absorbed the remaining $13 million left on his contract.
Granderson is free agent after this season, and even though he is making $15 million this season, the Mets will hunting something of value back for the the veteran outfielder. While the Cubs have not implied any interest in Granderson, plenty of other teams have shown a desire to acquire the veteran, including the Washington Nationals – who just lost Bryce Harper for an undetermined time due to a bone bruise.
.@Mike_Ferrin and @Jim_Duquette: The #Nationals NEED to pay the #Mets asking price for Curtis Granderson. pic.twitter.com/zaYv36AwZs
— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 14, 2017
Granderson may be seen as a luxury for a team like the Cubs who have a relatively healthy outfield, but the team is lacking offensive production from the outfield as a whole. And according to Mike Petrillo of MLB.com Granderson, who got off to a rough start in April, has been slashing .266/.384/.570 since May 1st with a 148 wRC+, which would make him tied with Kris Bryant, the Royals Eric Hosmer, and Dodgers rookie sensation Cody Bellinger. It’s also worth mentioning that all the other players ahead of Granderson in wRC+ are currently considered MVP candidates in their respective leagues.
Granderson is also slugging the ball the best he has since he was with the Yankees in 2012 with at .473 SLG, the veteran would fit perfectly behind Bryant and Rizzo while the club awaits Contreras’ return. And at the very least, Granderson adds a proven lefty bat with playoff experience who hits right handed pitching well. Oh, and he’s one of the nicest guys in the entire sport, making him an excellent addition to the Cubbies locker room.
This does create an surplus of outfielders for the Cubs, which would likely lead to either Kyle Schwarber or Ian Happ being sent back to the minors until the rosters expand in September. And the cost for Granderson like is someone like DJ Wilson, Chesney Young, or an arm like Duane Underwood.
But to add a bonafide slugger in Granderson to this Cubs offense may be what they need to replace the offense lost from Contreras. And when he returns, having Rizzo, Bryant, Contreras and Granderson on paper, makes the Cubs a lot scarier to teams than currently constructed.
