Cubs Mailbag – An Early Look At The Trade Deadline

The Chicago Cubs are coming off a successful four-game weekend in Cincinnati, where they won three of four. And they won them quite comfortably, I might add.

So despite a roller-coaster start that is seemingly still continuing, the Cubs are showing signs of playing like the team we all expected them to be at the beginning of the year. They are 25-19, just two games out of first place in the National League Central, and they return to Chicago tonight to welcome the Cleveland Indians to Wrigley Field for the first time since the 2016 World Series.

Last week, respected MLB Insider Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that the Cubs are interested in trading for Orioles’ infielder Manny Machado, who is slated to become a free agent this offseason and is almost certain to leave Baltimore. What’s interesting is that the Cubs already have a stacked infield, would need to trade rather heavily from their major league talent pool for a rental (there’s no way Machado would agree to a conditional extension before the offseason), and are more than likely to pursue Nationals’ right fielder Bryce Harper next offseason as well, who will command a contract worth almost a half-billion dollars himself.

But just in case you weren’t already intrigued with the idea of adding Machado to the Cubs’ lineup, Machado told reporters that his dream is to win a World Series playing on the same team as Albert Almora Jr, whom he grew up with. Of course, Almora Jr. is the center fielder, and a budding star, for your Cubbies …

Reaction to Manny Machado saying he'd love to win a World Series while playing with Albert Almora Jr. pic.twitter.com/a1M4KD9Nzl

— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) May 21, 2018

I know none of this really means anything just yet. Baseball is a business and it takes two teams to make a deal. But can you imagine?

With that, we reach into this week’s Cubs Mailbag. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions!

Who do you want to get at the deadline?

— Nick P (@nickdabears34) May 21, 2018

It’s pretty early to talk about the trade deadline, and you’re probably not going to like this, but the Cubs are pretty set, and deep, as a roster … But let’s explore for fun:

First thing is to determine who the sellers will be, because they inform the market. If we were to take today’s records and extrapolate to July, the sure-fire sellers would be: Tampa Bay, Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City, Chicago (White Sox), Texas, Miami, Cincinnati and San Diego. Honestly, the Dodgers would be too, but I’ll make an exception for their projection because I really do think they’re better than they’ve played and will turn it around eventually.

Next, what are the Cubs’ needs? Their rotation pretty much is what it is. They haven’t fully pitched to their capability, but Yu Darvish and Jose Quintana, who have struggled the most, have shown signs recently that they’re coming around. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Tyler Chatwood have been solid, though Chatwood really needs to take control of his, well, control. Maybe they pick up a fifth-starter type that can make spot starts as the season continues and to have as additional depth in case of injury. But I could also see them turning to Mike Montgomery, Eddie Butler (who has been on the disabled list), and some minor league talent as well, such as prized pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay. So I wouldn’t expect much trade action here.

The bullpen has been absolutely fantastic for the most part. The foursome of Brandon Morrow, Carl Edwards Jr., Pedro Strop, and Steve Cishek might be the best bullpen back-end in baseball right now (loving that alliteration). Brian Duensing has pitched well, as has Justin Hancock in his limited time with the club so far. Justin Wilson has shown spurts of dominance, but is still very unreliable with his command, most recently witnessed during the Saturday day-game in Cincinnati. So perhaps they go after another left-handed reliever to pair with Duensing in case they decide they can’t trust Wilson long term.

Then there’s the hitters/fielders. I’ll give my executive declaration that Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward (due to contract), Ben Zobrist, Javy Baez, Kyle Schwarber, and Albert Almora Jr. are not going anywhere. I referenced the Machado situation above, and would think any deal for him would require a package involving Addison Russell and Ian Happ to start with. That’s not going to happen, so I’ll assume they’re safe as well. The reality is, I don’t see any trade happening that involves any of their major league position talent. The Cubs have solid depth in the field and are not desperate for a late-inning defensive replacement at any position. I could perhaps see adding somebody with speed to improve their base-stealing game, as that will be critical in the postseason. But otherwise, this is mostly it.

So, the only real need I could see at the deadline would be a left-handed reliever. Some names to keep an eye on that would fit well (and don’t have the sort of command issues that plague Wilson):

Alex Claudio (Rangers)
Brad Hand (Padres)
Richard Bleier (Orioles)
Amir Garrett (Reds …… Extremely unlikely to happen but intriguing)
Zach Britton (Orioles …… If he gets healthy … A guy can hope!)

Why the inconsistency in pitching and batting? Is it the players or the new philosophy from the new coaches?

— Paul (@mrpchvz) May 21, 2018

I really don’t have an answer for you, honestly. If I did, I’d have relayed it to Jim Hickey and Chili Davis immediately. Because #EverybodyIn, right?

It’s probably a mix of both, though. The players are adjusting to new tutelage from their respective coaches, and it can certainly take time. Remember, we are just a couple months into the season. Many things in the league are backwards right now, like the Dodgers struggling mightily, and even the Nationals taking their sweet time getting into the swing of things.

Some of it certainly falls on the players. After a torrid stretch, Javy Baez’s pitch selection has deteriorated again. And they are still not executing well in crucial spots, especially with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. It is unacceptable that they are still under league average when it comes to “producing” in those situations, and coaching can only take so much blame here. There is still time to correct things over the course of a 162-game season, though. It’s a really long season, and let’s also keep in mind that the Cubs have had this inconsistent stretch right off the bat, so it’s more noticeable. If the Cubs had started out hot and been five or six games in front of the rest of the NL Central, we wouldn’t have noticed as much. Let’s wait until the All-Star Break to really assess where things are and what needs to be fixed. A half-season sample will be much more indicative.

Is a consistent batting lineup actually necessary for success or do we make too big a fuss about it?

— JCE (@jobin_theman) May 21, 2018

I haven’t played baseball beyond middle school, so I might be out of line saying this, but I really think we make too big a fuss about it. These are professional hitters who are playing baseball at the highest level possible. They are there for this simple reason: They have demonstrated they can hit a baseball well enough to start for a major league club. I have really tried, but I still don’t fully understand why, *where* they hit in a particular order would affect their vision, pitch selection, swing, etc., things that are important in any and every at-bat, so much.

There are certainly some things that do come into play context-wise. Ideally, you want someone that can get on base and set things up for the run producers at the top of the lineup. You want your run-producers to follow shortly thereafter to have those run-producing opportunities. And you want to get the pitcher’s spot as few at-bats as possible in a game. Those are all fair points.

And game-situations may also affect how a hitter attacks (bunting, facing a drawn-in infield, etc.), but these are all things that should be executed regardless, in my opinion.

But then again, that’s easy for me to say. I welcome any thoughts about this from those that have played more competitively in the comments on Facebook or Twitter, where this Mailbag will be shared.