It is never too early to discuss trades when you know exactly what your team needs. The Chicago Cubs‘ roster has some blatant holes that need to be improved if they intend to compete in 2024. Why wait until the end of July when you can improve your roster right now?
Of course, the Cubs believe they have what they need in-house in order to seriously compete in 2024. On Tuesday night, the bats finally came alive in the tenth inning to give them a much-needed win against the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. But was it a sign of things being fixed, or just a one-off night?
Infielder Nico Hoerner went on Chicago’s Sports Radio 670 The Score on Tuesday and talked about the hitting (or lack thereof) on this team. He said it can be a contagious thing. Once a couple of guys get going, it becomes easier for the next guy to step up and find some grass along with them. That’s sort of what we saw on Tuesday night.
Regardless, we got to the tenth inning because the offense could not back Ben Brown’s incredible performance with insurance runs, and the bullpen could not hold the lead. If the Cubs intend to legitimately compete in 2024 past the regular season, they need some outside help. The stacked minor league has pieces that will directly impact this roster this summer. Pete Crow-Armstrong will be back sooner rather than later, and Cade Horton is primed to make his major league debut. However, the Cubs also have assets that can help them land big names to fill some significant needs as crunch time inches closer.
Top Priority: Find A Closer
A real closer, not just a pitcher, that could work anywhere from the sixth to the ninth. Someone that the league knows when coming out from under the left-field bleachers, they are at their last breath.
Adbert Alzolay is currently on the shelf dealing with forearm pain, and he was not a reliable option before that. Hector Neris has six saves for the Cubs this year, but none have come without him getting himself into trouble. And certainly, it’s understood that Jose Cuas should not be trusted with any form of responsibility.
Mark Leiter Jr. is the Cubs’ best option for late-inning action in the bullpen right now, but he is still not really a closer kind of pitcher. Hayden Wesneski is a fine middle/long relief option for the Cubs. He is capable of making a spot start when needed. With his longevity, he shouldn’t be slated for any late-inning action. Ben Brown is making the case that he should be a starter, but he could help late in games, too.
The Cubs need someone they know can come out of the bullpen and secure the win. We know that the Boston Red Sox have made Kenley Jansen available for trade, who is due $16 million in the last year of his deal. He’d certainly help the Cubs. But the biggest swing the Cubs could take would be for the Oakland A’s rookie phenom, Mason Miller.
Miller has a 1.88 earned run average and has converted on all eleven save opportunities. In 24 total innings pitched, he has 47 strikeouts while allowing just 12 hits. The A’s started hotter than anyone expected, but reality has set in quickly these last few weeks. They will be sellers. Moving Miller would not be out of the question if they don’t expect to compete until their pending move to Las Vegas. The only hold-up would be what they’d ask for in return.
The Cubs Desperately Need A Catcher
Yan Gomes has been around for some really frustrating years in recent memory. Despite it all, he remained a veteran leader for this organization and helped the transition from good to bad to good again. As his career winds down, his 2024 has been a reminder that Father Time will always come out on top.
Though young and still learning, Miguel Amaya has been disappointing behind the plate. Once a top prospect in the organization, Amaya has struggled greatly as a major-league hitter in 2024.
Amaya and Gomes are batting under .200 on the year, an average that is unacceptable for the catching position. But they are the Cubs’ only viable option in the organization at this point. Moises Ballesteros is ranked as the sixth top prospect in the organization, but he just started AA ball and is not projected to be major league-ready until 2026. The Cubs cannot wait that long to fix the catching spot.
Mid-season trading for a catcher is one of the most complex trades to make in baseball. A catcher would have to come into a new organization and do a whole spring training worth of work in a matter of days, maybe hours, to be ready to join the team. It does not happen often in baseball, but the Cubs need it badly.
Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz is the hottest catching name on the market. He is batting .301 on a historically bad team. In a contract year, the Rockies could decide to move him in exchange for future assets to help them build around the mega-deal they gave Kris Bryant. Or, they may have a huge sale and start all over. The Cubs should be in this conversation.
The Biggest Swing: Go For Power
The Cubs have hit 52 home runs this year, well in the league’s bottom half. They’re also well toward the bottom of the league in slugging and OPS. If postseason baseball is the goal, this has to change drastically.
It’s fine to believe that Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Christopher Morel will reap the benefits of a full summer at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out. However, there is no such thing as too much power, and the Cubs could use as much of it as they can find. Naturally, Pete Alonso’s name is going to come up at the trade deadline because the Mets dangle him every year. The Cubs are always part of those talks.
So, if the swing is for 2024, make it big. Alonso will be a free agent at the end of the year. The Mets have expressed wanting him to be there for his career, but their actions speak otherwise. The Cubs are familiar with this type of dynamic. They have the chance to be on the other side of it and potentially lock up the first base position for the next decade.
Yes, the move to trade for Michael Busch prior to the season beginning gave him a chance at first base. But the rookie is struggling after a hot start, and his adjustment period is taking longer than anticipated. It’s still unknown what Busch will become. But we know what Alonso is.
In Conclusion, These Are Unrealistic
The Cubs are in the third-largest sports market and have the fourth most valuable franchise in baseball. But they are not big spenders, as either of those statistics suggests. They believe in developing from within and benefiting from cheap contracts along the way.
With that, they will not mortgage their future on a 2024 team that has felt underwhelming at this point in the season heading into the summer months. If they were 3-5 games up on the division and showing promise with a couple of weak links, they might consider a move for Elias Diaz or even a Mason Miller. However, where they are now is closer to the middle of the pack, not one of the league’s elites.
Things could change in a month, and some of these possible swings could become a reality. We’d love to see it.
