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  • Chicago Cubs Trade & Free Agent Rumors

    Follow the latest Chicago Cubs trade and free agent rumors, along with quick notes on the big league club, the minor leagues and the draft.
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    Matthew Trueblood
    In a big story with just over 90 minutes left before the deadline, Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets are committing to a step back in 2024, the better to contend in 2025 and beyond. The details here are numerous and unmistakable. 
    This has to make the odds of a Pete Alonso trade shoot through the roof. Alonso is only under team control through 2024. It's time to take this notion from the land of idle thought to the realm of very serious consideration: What should the Cubs be willing to give up to make Alonso their first baseman for the next year and a half?
    Matthew Trueblood
    The Cubs (along with the Brewers and Twins) are among potential landing spots for Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Chafin, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman. There's no question the Cubs are in the market for a lefty reliever, and old friend and failed starter Chafin would be like slipping into a comfortable pair of old sneakers.
    I think, though, that the Cubs are trying to buy a new pair instead. This feels like a fallback maneuver, should their pursuit of both Aaron Bummer and Brooks Raley come to naught. In fact, that might be the case for all three of the teams Heyman listed. 
    What do you think? A return engagement for Chafin?
    Matthew Trueblood
    There are mystery teams in the mix for Mets starter and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander as the trade deadline nears, according to Jon Heyman. He lists the Dodgers and Astros as the non-mystery suitors, so maybe the mystery team is really just the Orioles, who have been mentioned in connection with him elsewhere.
    Still, it's worth a mention that the Mets paid down Max Scherzer's deal enormously in order to juice the prospect return in their recent trade with the Rangers. In fact, Steve Cohen is making a habit of that tactic, continuing to carry the salaries even of players shipped off to other teams. He's bearing the luxury tax burden even as the team is disassembled, to maximize the talent the team can acquire.
    If the Mets are willing to do that with Verlander's humongous 2023 salary, and to eat a chunk of his $43 million and change in 2024, would you give up one of the Cubs system's top prospects to (finally) make Verlander a Cub? It sounds crazy, but since this wouldn't be a pure rental and it would be a difference-maker in the NL Central, I'm not sure at all that it is.
    Photo Credit: © Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
    Brock Beauchamp
    I will preface this with "Bob Nightengale alert!" The man is notorious for mis-stating points, and that's when he's not misspelling names, getting wrong dates, or a host of other issues with his tweet history.
    But if this is true, it's an enticing lure to the Cubs.
    Eduardo Rodriguez is amidst a breakout season. The 30-year-old lefty has a 2.95 ERA through 88.1 innings pitched and is under contract through the 2026 season at $15-18 million per season.
    Michael Lorenzen is a much lower-risk and lower-cost alternative, as he is a free agent at season's end. He is currently sporting a 122 ERA+ with 105 innings pitched.
    KCCub
    The Cubs have shown interest in Pirates' right-handed reliever, David Bednar.
    Bednar is a late-bloomer and has emerged as Pittsburgh's closer over the past two seasons, during which he has a 2.03 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched, while striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings.
    He will come at a costly price. Bednar is under arbitration through the conclusion of the 2026 season. He fits in with a longer-term play by Jed Hoyer but should the Cubs choose to go this route, expect the prospects going to Pittsburgh to be significant.
    Bednar would take a haul obviously with his 3.5 years of control. What type of package would it take?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that the Cubs have taken Cody Bellinger off the trade market.
    The Cubs have been on an absolutely tear coming out the break, winning eight in a row and moving only 3.5 games back in the National League Central and 3.0 games back for the final Wild Card berth.
    If Bellinger is off the market and the Cubs' starting rotation facing some question marks, it's possible Marcus Stroman is quietly being taken off the market, as well, or at least his asking price has raised.
    Given the number of expiring contracts available on the trade market, standing pat doesn't make much sense, either. The Cubs should be able to upgrade their bullpen and round out their lineup for relatively little cost, all considering. So who do you think Hoyer & Co should target?
    Brock Beauchamp
    If the Cubs keep winning, it feels like buying at the deadline becomes inevitable, which is good news for the Cubs because up to this point, the deadline has been rather quiet, as there are many teams still on the fence about selling and few selling teams have have clear upgrades at positions. MLBTR's Anthony Franco runs through the best remaining trade targets heading into the final 72 hours before the trade deadline.
    Of particular interest to the Cubs:
    Josh Hader: RP, San Diego Padres Michael Lorenzen: SP, Detroit Tigers Eduardo Rodriguez: SP, Detroit Tigers Paul Sewald: RP, Seattle Mariners Scott Barlow, RP, Kansas City Royals Who are your favorite trade targets and why?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Patrick Mooney wrote a lengthy piece for The Athletic today, focusing on the Cubs' recent resurgence and the struggles of Marcus Stroman. Here's an interesting quote from Stroman:
    "Like I said, I feel like ever since London I’ve been off slightly mechanically. The rhythm and the consistency of my slider has just been a little off. The sinker’s good, but then when I go to get to my slider, I feel like it’s very different mechanically. So I’m just looking to find some unity, some uniformity. I’ll get there.”
    Stroman is obviously acknowledging his recent struggles and pointing to a potential cause for those struggles.
    Mooney goes on to talk more about the Cubs' recent performance under Ross, the fact that this team is largely Jed Hoyer's team, and those players deserve to be rewarded with a true push at making the postseason.
    (I'll take this moment to say that if you're not already subscribing to The Athletic, I highly encourage you to do so)
    What do you think, has this team "earned" the right to make a stretch run or is selling still the prudent decision?
     
    Matthew Trueblood
    In Ken Rosenthal's latest notes column at The Athletic, he focuses on the Mariners, who might be in an even weirder, more challenging spot than the Cubs. According to Rosenthal, Jerry Dipoto is open to trading one of the team's several good, controllable, young starting pitchers, but only in a deal that would increase (or at least preserve) the team's chances for 2023.
    Good luck, Jerry. That's a reasonable position to take, hut it makes an actual move involving any of Seattle's starters unlikely. Still, if such a move were to happen, the Cubs could be a fascinating fit. They could make Marcus Stroman an important (though secondary) piece of a deal for, say, Logan Gilbert. 
    The Cubs have young pitching almost as promising as the Mariners' stuff, but a year or two behind them. One of those guys (Cade Horton, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, or even Hayden Wesneski) could be the foundation of a trade. There are other, even wilder fits, too. Christopher Morel could play second base for the Mariners, and that seems to be his best defensive home, by a mile.
    The Cubs could also inquire on the (presumably very high) price of closer Paul Sewald, who'd be a superb addition to their bullpen and is under team control for 2024, and on the (likely much more realistic) cost of Teoscar Hernandez, who would be a strong right-handed bat for the middle of the lineup. 
    We're going to see fewer pure buy/sell trades this deadline, because there are several teams right where the Cubs and Mariners are. That could make for some interesting trades (and trade rumors) over the coming days, though.
    Matthew Trueblood
    According to Jon Morosi, the Marlins are among the teams looking into Cody Bellinger this week. That’s a new and surprising suitor, but with Jazz Chisholm Jr. nursing a strained oblique, the need is there. 
    A realistic fit is trickier. The Cubs are playing their way further and further from seller status. Unless the Marlins included one of their top prospects—arms Max Meyer (on the road back from Tommy John surgery) or Jake Eder, or Cuban emigre and tool shed shortstop Yiddi Cappe—it’s hard to see it working out. Still, it’s an intriguing option, because the Marlins are a hungry (maybe desperate) enough team to overpay a bit.
    If the Cubs keep winning, this could all be academic. We’re not there yet, though.
    Brock Beauchamp
    In case you haven't noticed, the Chicago Cubs are on a bit of a roll coming out of the All-Star break, going 7-4 overall and currently amidst a four-game winning streak.
    With Cody Bellinger (free agent at season's end) and Marcus Stroman (can opt-out of contract at season's end) looking like two of the most appealing trade candidates on the market, Cubs' President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer has decisions to make that could impact the north side team for years to come.
    And according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, insiders are saying no decision has been made. With nearly a week left until the deadline and no significant trades having been made as of this writing, that's not an indictment of Hoyer... but time is running out and a decision will need to be made. And it's an important one for the Chicago Cubs.
    Matthew Trueblood
    For a month or so, the 2023 Pirates had us fooled. They stayed in first place about that long, and they hung around on the periphery of the NL Central race for most of May. Since then, it's been a true downward spiral, and as a result, Pittsburgh is a seller again at this year's trade deadline. Intriguingly, according to both Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal, the team is open to trading both elite closer David Bednar and All-Star starter Mitch Keller.
    The fit here is, obviously, awkward and unlikely. The Pirates will command high prices to actually trade either of the two, with Bednar under team control for three seasons beyond this one and Keller still controllable for two. It's only fair that the Cubs will flinch at the notion of giving up sufficient young talent to pry them away, knowing those players could be playing in Pittsburgh for several more years. For their part, the Pirates probably don't want either the real disadvantage or the fan blowback that would come with trading a key piece to a division rival who might use them to stay ahead of Pittsburgh as that team tries to turn the corner and return to contention.
    Still, it's worth dreaming on a little bit. Bednar, 28, is one of the half-dozen best relievers in baseball. He's consistently fanned over 30 percent of opponents over the last three seasons, and this year, he's adding plus command to his resume, walking fewer batters and making fewer mistakes over the heart of the plate. He'd be the anchor of the bullpen for years to come, and a significant boost for the very thin group the Cubs have here in 2023. 
    Keller took longer to reach a high level of performance, with a couple of false starts, but he's enjoyed a bat-missing breakout in 2023 and his team control could make him a very appealing bridge from the Kyle Hendricks and Marcus Stroman Era to the Cade Horton and Jackson Ferris Era. Intradivisional dynamics might nix these targets, but they're the kind of players the Cubs do need to consider as they seek creative solutions to their medium-term problems.
    Matthew Trueblood
    The Arizona Diamondbacks are reeling, and they took another painful hit Sunday. Rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno, the prized acquisition of their offseason and a key part of their strong first half, landed on the 10-day injured list with shoulder inflammation. Moreno has been playing through that problem for a while now, and his diminished performance has been one small part of the team's major slide throughout this month. The D'Backs could be an interesting fit for a trade involving Yan Gomes, or even one for Tucker Barnhart, depending on Moreno's prognosis.
    Because it's been a while since they were relevant in the Dodgers-dominated NL West, Arizona will try to make the most of the opportunity this season presents. They feel a bit like the 2015 Cubs: loaded with talent, but skidding the wrong direction at the deadline and not inclined to sell the farm in order to get this particular club over the top. They're just entering what they hope will be a years-long winning window. However, GM Mike Hazen did say they would be aggressive in their search for upgrades, and they've been creative traders in the past.
    Zac Gallen came to Arizona in a challenge trade for Jazz Chisholm, Jr. The deal that brought Moreno to the desert this winter in exchange for Daulton Varsho was similarly bold and (in an era of boring, buyer/seller, value-focused dealing) unusual. Could that mean that this emergent need creates an opening for packaging Gomes with a pitcher like Michael Fulmer or Marcus Stroman to give the Diamondbacks help on two fronts, in exchange for one of the more exciting prospects in their strong system? I already wrote about what trading Fulmer to Arizona could look like last week, and I also covered the possibility of packaging Stroman and Gomes. This one bears watching, even as the Cubs walk the line between buying and selling.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Yesterday, catcher Jose Trevino had season-ending wrist surgery, leaving a roster vacancy on the New York Yankees.
    The Yankees have several moving pieces, which complicate the situation for them. First, they're 3.0 games back of the final Wild Card berth. It's hard to envision the Yankees packing it in and giving up entirely but they may not focus on upgrading at catcher in favor of shoring up other positions.
    First, they have top prospect Austin Wells in AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He's 24 years old and while he's not having a great offensive season, it's entirely possible the Yankees could consider him good enough for a stretch run.
    Another complicating factor is the remaining Yankee catcher, Kyle Higashioka. He is 33 years old and also having a down year offensively, posting a 75 OPS+ over 61 games.
    Yan Gomes is controlled through the 2024 season and is under a very reasonable $6 million contract for 2023. He's also having a very nice offensive season for a catcher, currently sporting a 96 OPS+ over 63 games for the Cubs.
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