5 Relief Pitchers Who WIll Be Available to Chicago Cubs at MLB Trade Deadline

[Paul Niemiec]

Image courtesy of © Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

 

With the All-Star break and the 2025 MLB Draft behind us, trade season is here. With many teams in striking distance of the playoffs, we seem to be looking at a seller's market. That said, teams like the Cardinals, Twins, Rays, Diamondbacks, Royals, Angels, and Rangers will need to choose a direction. If many of those teams choose to make a push, adding anything at all will come at a premium cost. The Cubs' bullpen has been better than the first month of the season suggested it would be, but this group needs reinforcements. Let’s look at five hurlers who definitely are or are trending toward being on the trade market.

Sean Newcomb, LHP, Athletics
For those of you who remember this brief sliver in time, Newcomb pitched in 17 games for the Cubs in 2022. This was a roster that gave regular playing time to guys like Frank Schwindel, Rafael Ortega, and P.J. Higgins, so we can say Newcomb played on a forgettable Cubs team as a whole. This season, however, Newcomb has a 2.52 ERA for West Sacramento, with an encouraging 2.95 FIP in 25 innings for them. He has 25 strikeouts and has issued just eight walks. Newcomb began the season with Boston, before catching on with Oakland. He was worse in Boston, with a 3.95 ERA in 41 innings (they had him starting), but still had a FIP of 3.42. Overall, he has been completely solid this season. He should not cost much, and would be a great third lefty option/depth piece, particularly as regression and age threaten to spoil the fun of the Drew Pomeranz renaissance (Pomeranaissance?).

Raisel Iglesias, RHP, Braves
Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, his ERA is over 5.00, and his FIP of 4.36 suggests this is the type of pitcher he has been this season. He is also throwing on a lowly Braves team that has been mind-blowingly irrelevant all season. Iglesias gave up four runs Saturday, but that was the first time he'd allowed anything since June 9, and he brings another option who has valuable closer experience. Iglesias had over 30 saves in 2023 and 2024 with Atlanta, with three more 30-save seasons in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Maybe a trade to a competitive Cubs team lights a fire in him, and he goes back to looking like a pitcher with a career ERA under 3.00. Even if he isn’t that version of himself, he has still been better than Cubs relievers not named Ryan Pressly, Pomeranz, Daniel Palencia or Brad Keller.

Jake Bird, RHP, Rockies
Bird will likely be as much in demand as any reliever this deadline. He is still pre-arbitration, and pitching to a FIP of 3.13 while playing half his games in Denver. The Rockies won’t let him go for peanuts—although it is the Rockies we are talking about, so you never know. Offer peanuts first, but be ready to give up more. 

Bird has shown some volatility in his career, with a FIP around 3.50 in 2023 before ballooning to 5.42 in 2024, so his future production will be uncertain. For example, FanGraphs's ZiPS 3-year projection has him posting an ERA in the mid-4s through 2027. A move from the historically awful Rockies should only help him, though. He won’t be the bullpen ace, but he could provide quality work at an affordable cost for this season and beyond.

Reid Detmers, LHP, Angels
Now we are getting into some more exciting names. Detmers, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft, has been rumored to be on the block for an Angels team that sits under .500 but within striking distance of the Wild Card. Detmers showed promise as a starter, before injuries and poor performance had the Angels skeptical about his role. After being used exclusively as a starter prior to 2025, he has not started one game this season, and instead worked 42 games as a reliever. His 4.17 ERA is nothing special, but his FIP of 3.20 suggests he has been the victim of some bad luck. His 28.5% strikeout rate would lead Cubs lefty relievers, and he is solid at preventing the long ball. Not set to sit free agency until after the 2028 season, the Angels have no pressure to move him, but a robust market may prompt them to listen. He won’t be easy to acquire, but the lefties in the Cubs’ pen doing the heavy lifting are in their late 30s. He's also an Illinoisan (born in Nokomis, high school in Chatham), which is always a nice bonus.

Pete Fairbanks, RHP, Rays
The Rays are very much in contention, but they are still a team that will ship some players out before they get too expensive. Fairbanks has a club option next season that will escalate to around $10 million, if he finishes this season healthy and closes games at least semi-regularly. The Cubs should have no problem picking that up, though, especially if he continues to pitch well. Thus, he'd be more than a rental.

He has a 2.92 ERA this season, with 16 saves. Fairbanks is probably one of the more likely relievers to be moved this deadline, so the Cubs will likely need to win a bidding war if they want him. The Cubs and Rays made a big trade last deadline, though, so the Rays should have a good idea of what the Cubs have to offer.

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Relief depth is crucial for any team hoping to make a deep push into October. In the Cubs' case, it will also be vital just to get that far, since their starting rotation is somewhat thin right now. They have to be open-minded and fairly aggressive over the next week, looking for whatever ways become viable to shore up their pitching depth. These five pitchers are just the tip of the iceberg, but they're very interesting names.

[Ed. note: Since we're talking about these guys anyway, I'll note that I've heard from sources within the game that both Fairbanks and Iglesias are active Cubs targets, while the team has talked to the Angels about Detmers in the past, as well. We'll see what comes of that, but each of these are names to watch both in terms of availability and in terms of apparent interest from the Cubs side. -MT]

 

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