The Cubs were obliterated in the 8th inning of Friday’s series opener against their rival St. Louis Cardinals, allowing nine runs to score and spoiling an excellent Jake Arrieta start. The devastating collapse led to some very extreme knee-jerk reactions, with fans clamoring for the Cubs to pull the trigger for Orioles closer Zach Britton.
The rumors surrounding the Cubs and Britton started last week when MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand tweeted that the Cubs were entertaining the idea of trading for the lefty-reliever.
Industry source thinks Cubs will trade for Britton. “If you have a chance to add Britton to your club, you do it. Theo has the minor-lgrs."
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 17, 2017
While the overreaction from a poor bullpen performance by the fans is not what is making this deal happen, a few sources have confirmed that the Cubs are still very much interested in acquiring Britton. A source told me he felt that “Britton is still very likely,” and that he felt the Cubs were considered the favorites to acquire the Orioles top reliever.
I've also been told that SP Kevin Gausman is also still a possibility. No word on the asking price, but #Cubs still very interested in both
— Sean Sears (@sean_sears6) July 22, 2017
Of course, the left-handed closer had an incredible 2016 season, finishing with 47 saves and 0.54 ERA. However, Britton has been dealing with a forearm injury that has limited him to just 15 appearances this season. And while the results have still been solid, 2.81 ERA with 5 saves, he has given up 22 hits and allowed five runs during that small span.
For comparison, Britton only allowed 38 hits and four earned runs though all of 2016, raising some red flags on whether or not the dominating 29-year-old lefty is truly back. However, that is not stopping the Cubs from continuing their search for more arms.
Now, the other fascinating part about this situation is that the Cubs are also still drawn to Orioles starter Kevin Gausman. No one has mentioned Gausman as one of the players Baltimore has made available, however GM Dan Duquette and owner Peter Angelos have both mentioned center fielder Adam Jones and third baseman Manny Machado as ‘untouchable’ at this time. However, both have failed to mentioned Gausman as one of those players they would refuse to move.
I wrote about the Cubs scouting one of Gausman’s starts last month, and with his age (26-years-old) and controllable contract (arbitration eligible for the next three seasons), Gausman is exactly the type of pitcher the Cubs would love to add to the back of their rotation. And when he is on, Gausman has some incredibly filthy stuff.
7 strong innings and 8 strikeouts from @KevinGausman in last night's victory over Washington. #Birdland pic.twitter.com/GevNVpSK0C
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 9, 2017
His numbers have been rough this season with an ERA still sitting above six, but he is coming off a promising 2016 season where he finished with a 3.61 ERA and a K/9 of 8.72. While his 2017 numbers are awful, Gausman as the Cubs 4th or 5th pitcher for this season and for the future looks a lot more promising than trotting out John Lackey again or paying to keep Jake Arrieta around long term.
Plus, think of the work that could be done by Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio working with Gausman on a consistent basis. The guy throws an incredible split-finger/change-up, which he uses as a strike out pitch, but think if he could start using that pitch to induce soft contact and more ground balls? And then remember who the Cubs have in the middle infield. Are you smiling yet? Because you should be smiling.
At this point, I personally, am more excited about the potential to land Gausman than I am Britton, however adding either of these arms is going to be tricky. The Cubs do not have the blue chip trade pieces they did a few weeks ago in Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease. Ian Happ is proving to be too important of a piece to move at this point, so it is going to have to be a slew of prospects that get this deal done.
I don’t know if the Cubs have enough known talent in their farm system to make this deal work, but the Orioles are scouting the Cubs prospects on a regular basis right now. If Baltimore can pick out a few hidden gems in the Cubs system, maybe this deal can work? Regardless, keep an eye on Zach Britton as the Cubs appear to be the favorites to land the talented lefty-arm.
