Cubs' Pre-Trade Deadline Quiet Could Be Setting Up Big Bullpen Splash

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Cubs, along with just about every other major-league club, have been quiet leading up to the MLB trade deadline, which is Monday at 5 PM CT. A huge number of teams are, as usual, clustered around the fringes of the playoff races in each league, so all parties are waiting as long as possible to see whether they should buy or sell—or which way that one team they really want to deal with is going to go.

After a couple of minor moves by the Minnesota Twins rolling into the weekend, things are bound to pick up. When they do, the Cubs should be right in the middle of the action. Of the 24 teams who aren't currently leading their division, 18 sit within 5.5 games of a Wild Card spot. The Cubs don't need to wait and wonder the way many of those teams do, though. They've maintained a firm grip on the National League's top Wild Card spot and have every reason to be aggressive over the next few days.

The San Diego Padres are a different story. San Diego enters the weekend at 56-54, just one game behind the spiraling Phillies for the final Wild Card spot. They're 14 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, though, making a division title feel all but impossible. If the Padres decide their postseason odds aren't worth betting on, they suddenly become one of the more fascinating teams to watch. And one name should immediately jump to the top of the Cubs' wish list: Adrián Morejón.

Morejón made his major-league debut in 2019 as a 20-year-old, but injuries kept him from becoming the impact arm many expected early in his career. However, he's since turned into one of the premier setup arms in baseball. Through 57 1/3 innings this season, Morejón owns a 3.14 ERA backed by an even better 2.56 expected ERA. He's also piled up 64 strikeouts, while issuing just 15 walks. The surface numbers are excellent; the underlying metrics are even better.

His hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity all rank in the 92nd percentile or better among major-league pitchers. He generates whiffs at an elite rate, gets hitters to chase pitches outside the zone frequently and ranks in the 99th percentile in ground-ball rate.

Few pitchers in the game can throw 100-MPH sinkers. Even fewer can do it from the left side. Fewer still consistently pound the strike zone. That's what makes Morejón different. His sinker routinely reaches triple digits, but the velocity isn't the only thing that makes it special. He commands it exceptionally well, constantly forcing hitters into weak contact.

His changeup might be even more impressive. Thrown around 92 MPH with devastating late drop, he gets whiffs on more than half of batter swings against it. Then there's the slider, which features an outstanding movement profile and gives hitters another completely different look. He'll even mix in an occasional four-seam fastball just to keep opponents from keying on the sinker. Morejón would immediately become one of the Cubs' most trusted late-inning relievers. He's entering free agency after the season, making him a true rental. Before then, though, he has the ability to completely change a postseason bullpen. If the Padres decide to sell, they'll almost certainly try to cash in now, rather than risk losing him for nothing a few months from now.

For the Cubs, the fit is obvious. Even if Chicago's bullpen were fully healthy, adding Morejón would make perfect sense. Considering all of the injuries they've dealt with throughout the year, he feels like an even bigger priority. So what would it cost?

The Padres already have plenty of talented young pitching throughout their organization, so position players would likely be the focus in any return. Luckily for the Cubs, that's where they have some real organizational depth. Jonathon Long stands out as a possible piece. Chicago's No. 9 prospect is slashing .282/.364/.449 at Triple-A Iowa, with 41 extra-base hits through 96 games. Long alone doesn't get a deal done, but he feels like a strong foundation.

Another interesting possibility is Kane Kepley. The Cubs' No. 6 prospect and second-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft has quickly established himself as one of the safest position-player prospects in the organization. Across 90 games this season, Kepley is slashing .258/.436/.413 while drawing an eye-popping 92 walks and stealing 49 bases. His hit tool, speed, and defense give him an incredibly high floor. He's never going to become a 25-home run hitter, but his athleticism and ability to get on base should allow him to impact games in plenty of other ways.

It might be that San Diego decides to both buy and sell, spinning off Morejón as a hedge because of his impending free agency but looking to upgrade the big-league roster in some other area at the same time. In that case, they're likely to demand Pedro Ramírez, who feels like too much to give up for a half-season of Morejón's services. If the price tag is any lower than that, though, the Cubs shouldn't hesitate. It's incredibly difficult to find a left-handed reliever who throws 100 MPH, misses bats, limits hard contact, pounds the strike zone and keeps the ball on the ground. Morejón does all of it. If Chicago is serious about making a deep postseason run, this is exactly the kind of move contenders make.

View full article

[Bertz]

Morejon's a monster, an order of magnitude better than Luke Weaver and without the rollercoaster-esque performance of Jeff Hoffman's last year and a half.  And so he's going to be expensive, you could argue for a Top 100 guy honestly.  Pretty hard bar to clear for a reliever

One of the nice things about the Padres is their org is really stripped down right now.  So I'm wondering if you can do a bit more of a deal centered around quantity (4 or 5 for 1) and hold more of your blue chips in reserve.  That is fairly antithetical to Preller but they are REALLY overleveraged right now.

[Victor Reichman]

It appears that the Cubs are unlikely to win the division. This puts them squarely with many other teams in the Wild Card position, where they now sit comfortably.

However, I wouldn't give up any top prospect for a rental. We made that mistake with Tucker. If it's someone with club control, that's a different scenario.  If they were on top of their division, it could have been different.