Could Cubs Acquire a Platoon Partner for Ian Happ at MLB Trade Deadline?

[Paul Niemiec]

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

With four days to go before the 2026 MLB trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs are playing well. Starting pitching is still the key area of concern for this club, and after they cut ties with Jameson Taillon, Jed Hoyer should be out looking to pick up not only a front-line starter, but also some additional depth toward the back of the rotation.

The more dire the pitching needs, the less it looks like the offense will be addressed at all. The Cubs still have one of the best lineups in baseball, sitting third in runs scored, wRC+, and fourth in OPS. Pete Crow-Armstrong is a full-strength superstar, which the Cubs have lacked since the World Series core dissolved. We could (though probably won't) see a second straight season where three hitters top 30 homers, with Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Ian Happ the most likely to do it. With the right pitching moves, this is a team that can compete with anyone in the postseason, due to their elite offense.

However, there is a glaring hole in the lineup: Happ, against left handed pitching. Happ has 123 plate appearances against southpaws this season, and is slashing .161/.236/.304. That's the sixth-lowest batting average in baseball against lefties, and that includes left-handed hitters. His .540 OPS is the 10th-lowest, and he only has eight extra-base hits while striking out 42 times. Happ has always been stronger against righties (swinging from the left side) over the course of his career, rather than from the right side against lefties, as evidenced by his .819 OPS against righties compared to a .692 against left-handers. This trend is somewhat common amongst switch-hitters, and a .692 OPS is still almost average. As Matt Trueblood wrote in late 2023, he got more patient for a while, limiting the exposure of a weaker swing from the right side. The next year, he got more aggressive again and found some power. But Happ has been a near-automatic out in 2026 against lefties, making a platoon something to think about. 

The caveat here is that the four-time Gold Glove winner is still playing strong defense, and with the pitching as suspect as it is, defense isn’t an area the Cubs should be subtracting from. His 6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) puts him fifth in baseball, and second in the NL in that department among left fielders. If the Cubs were to find a platoon partner, they would also need to be strong defensively, which makes the trade pool more shallow. 

That's wildly unlikely, anyway. Happ is an impending free agent who's also the most tenured Cub and a revered presence in the clubhouse. They're unlikely to bench him even part of the time. If they decide it's important enough to explore, though, here are the options they might pursue.

Lane Thomas, Kansas City Royals
The Royals are firmly in seller mode and will look to move anything that won’t be part of their future. The former Cardinal is on a cheap one-year deal and should not take more than a flier-type prospect to acquire. Although Thomas has played only center and right field this season, he’s been worth 3 DRS in right and has a top-tier arm. He has a .799 OPS against lefties and would fit well in the bottom half of the Cubs lineup. 

Austin Martin, Minnesota Twins
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft has only about two years of MLB service time, but with Byron Buxton not going anywhere and top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez on the cusp of the majors, the Twins might not see room for Martin in their future. He’s played mostly right this season and has been strong defensively there, posting 5 DRS, but has logged over 200 innings in left, as well. He offers average arm strength and is a plus fielder in both corners. The right-handed hitter has a .788 OPS against opposite-handed pitchers and could have a role on the Cubs’ lineup (in the right matchups) for years to come. Although he is controllable, he shouldn't be costly.

Jacob Young, Washington Nationals
Young was worth 13 DRS in center field last season, but this year, that number is down to 1. The arm hasn’t always played great in center, which would hypothetically improve upon shifting over to left. From a pure speed standpoint, an outfield featuring Crow-Armstrong and Young would be the baseball equivalent to when the Miami Dolphins lined up both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as their wide receivers. Young was never a feared hitter, but he does have a .758 OPS against left-handed pitching and has already topped his career high in home runs this season, with nine. The Cubs might have to part with a pitching prospect to entice the Nationals, but if Dylan Crews continues to improve from a rough start to his career, Young could be seen as expendable.

None of these options will get the casual fan hyped, but these are all players who could fill in as a quality fourth outfielder, regardless of the Happ situation. They can handle left field adequately, while providing a spark in the bottom of the lineup. It’s important to remember that the Cubs, barring an extension, have their starting left and right fielders set to hit free agency after this season, so players like Martin and Young would serve a purpose beyond 2026. The team is prioritizing controllable arms in their quest to improve the pitching staff. Could they also look to the future while upgrading the present on the position-player side?

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[Faceoff9]

Ian Happ's full NTC has entered the chat...

[Brock Beauchamp]

8 minutes ago, Faceoff9 said:

Ian Happ's full NTC has entered the chat...

Welcome to NSBB!

[Bertz]

Yeah obviously this deadline is about pitching pitching pitching but this is just such a small and easy hole to patch up I'd be disappointed if they didn't.  And if they don't I suspect the why would be more about Ian Happ's feelings than anything objective, which would not be great.

Happ's almost certainly not this bad against LHP.  I think there's some BABIP happening here and also some small sample size (anecdotally Happ has always seemed particularly streaky right handed).  But even at his best Happ has only ever been solid against LHP.  Like you probably don't give Happ the Moises Ballesteros treatment and pull him from the game in the 6th inning at the first lefty reliever, but also he shouldn't be starting against them and definitely shouldn't be taking any super high leverage at bats against them.

I think it's worth noting too that you probably don't need this guy to be an outfielder unless Shaw gets dealt.  Shaw in LF and new guy at DH is a perfectly viable alignment against LH starters.  I think it works out that most of the lefty mashers available are OFers, but if you wanted to nab a DH or someone who very much should be a DH (Jo Adell?) it's easily workable.

[Jason Ross]

2 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Yeah obviously this deadline is about pitching pitching pitching but this is just such a small and easy hole to patch up I'd be disappointed if they didn't.  And if they don't I suspect the why would be more about Ian Happ's feelings than anything objective, which would not be great.

Happ's almost certainly not this bad against LHP.  I think there's some BABIP happening here and also some small sample size (anecdotally Happ has always seemed particularly streaky right handed).  But even at his best Happ has only ever been solid against LHP.  Like you probably don't give Happ the Moises Ballesteros treatment and pull him from the game in the 6th inning at the first lefty reliever, but also he shouldn't be starting against them and definitely shouldn't be taking any super high leverage at bats against them.

I think it's worth noting too that you probably don't need this guy to be an outfielder unless Shaw gets dealt.  Shaw in LF and new guy at DH is a perfectly viable alignment against LH starters.  I think it works out that most of the lefty mashers available are OFers, but if you wanted to nab a DH or someone who very much should be a DH (Jo Adell?) it's easily workable.

Even if it isn't a pure "Happ platoon partner" the team's bench right now is just missing someone you really trust to crush LHP. Even with Shaw returning; sprained wrists can sap power and he basically went from "fine" to "right back to the IL" with the same ailment. Triantos and Dean can easily be replaced with Shaw and "insert LHP masher here".