The Athletic: Cubs Will Add A Hitter Before The Trade Deadline

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Wow, didn't realize how bad he's been this year.  That really sucks for him going into FA.  If he was a FA last year he probably would have gotten 150m.  

Thoughts on Kelly?  He's extremely old but I guess, half season commitment isn't the worst.  Solid numbers.  

I really like Merrill Kelly as a target. One of my favorite stop-gaps for 2025. 

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

How expensive is a rental? Do we know? Kelly and Suarez for Brown and Long or Triantos? Too much? Not enough? I don’t think those two warrant losing Cassie, Wiggins, Ballestaros, Alcantara or Rojas. Maybe any two prospects after those? 

I could see them parting with Long or Triantos since they're blocked and their upside is a bit limited.  One of Cassie or Alcantara can probably be had for a player with control beyond this season.  SP are at a premium these days so i'd keep Brown.  I'm always very hesitant to make future seasons weaker to make half a season stronger.

[Bertz]

Rental hitters, even impact ones, simply don't cost much in prospects.  Think about what we got for Rizzo/KB/Baez, or what we gave up for Candelario.  You can get impact talent a million miles from MLB or some safe/boring talent a lot closer.  But talent and proximity are mutually exclusive. You should be thinking about deals headlined by someone like Will Sanders or Pedro Ramirez or Ronny Cruz.

There is more of a premium with pitchers at the deadline, but I'd still be a bit surprised if it rises to the level where a pure rental costs a Caissie or Alcantara unless the Padres become sellers.  One of our top tier guys likely requires impact talent, additional team control, or a SP/RP package.

[Rcal10]

32 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Wow, didn't realize how bad he's been this year.  That really sucks for him going into FA.  If he was a FA last year he probably would have gotten 150m.  

Thoughts on Kelly?  He's extremely old but I guess, half season commitment isn't the worst.  Solid numbers.  

At this point I would rather Kelly than Gallen. Don’t care how old Kelly is in comparison to Gallen. Both rentals anyway. 

[Stratos]

5 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

At this point I would rather Kelly than Gallen. Don’t care how old Kelly is in comparison to Gallen. Both rentals anyway. 

I hope they find a SP who is at least controllable through next year.  I'd have no issue parting with quality prospects then.  I imagine it all comes down to the offers Jed gets.  But there's gotta be a ton of teams who will be looking for SP.

He always makes smart trades so i'm not worried there, rarely if ever overpays.

Nice we have a lot of young SP depth on the Cubs but the problem is their performance is so unreliable, we don't even know what results to expect from them yet. At least with a guy like Rea you know you're getting about 4.50 ERA and some length.

Edited July 2, 2025 by Stratos

[Layoutman]

On 7/1/2025 at 5:07 PM, Rcal10 said:

At this point I would rather Kelly than Gallen. Don’t care how old Kelly is in comparison to Gallen. Both rentals anyway. 

This ^^. Besides personal performance the only remaining comparator is salary. Kelly is by far cheaper than Gallen.

This begs the questions:

What is the prospect cost of Merrill Kelly(cheapest(salary)rental MOR starter)?
What is the prospect cost of Eugenio Suarez?

What would the pair cost?

What does the group think of Shelby Miller?   

[KCCub]

Max Muncy’s knee might be toast, so the Dodgers will most likely be entering the 3b sweepstakes. 

[Eeyore]

16 hours ago, KCCub said:

Max Muncy’s knee might be toast, so the Dodgers will most likely be entering the 3b sweepstakes. 

They can have Justin Turner back