Brandon Glick

Besides the Tokyo Series to open up the campaign, the Cubs have not been swept this year. Can they keep the streak alive vs the Twins?

Rich Harden is a nine-year MLB veteran having pitched for three franchises, including a two-year stint with the Chicago Cubs during the height of their 2008-09 craze. Originally taken in the 38th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners out of high school, Harden opted to go Central Arizona College, parlaying his success there into a 21-round jump. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 17th round the following year. He quickly rose through the farm system, eviscerating hitters at every level of the minors before finally getting the call to the big leagues in July 2003. Over the next six years, Harden developed into a dependable starter. He pitched to a 3.60 ERA between 2003-07, starting 76 games and hurling over 460 innings. He dealt with back-to-back injury-plagued campaigns 2006 and 2007, though by the latter season, the A's window of contention stemming from the "Moneyball era" had slammed shut. The Canadian-born righty got off to a roaring start in 2008, yielding a scant 2.34 ERA in 77 innings, becoming one of the top trade chips on the market. He also authored the 57th immaculate inning in baseball history, doing so on June 8, 2008 against the Los Angeles Angels (video here). With the A's out of contention by July, the Cubs pounced. In exchange for Rich Harden and reliever Chad Gaudin (who was a disaster in his half-season with the Cubs), Chicago gave up Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, Sean Gallagher, and, most famously, Josh Donaldson. Of course, Donaldson ended up becoming the star of the deal, converting off catcher and becoming one of the league's premier third basemen in Oakland. However, while Gaudin was a nothing-burger, Harden more than lived up to his end of the bargain. To close out the 2008 campaign, Harden turned in a sterling 1.77 ERA in 71 innings. Were it not for Jake Arrieta's unfathomable run in 2015, Harden's 3.2 bWAR in the second half would be the highest of any Cubs pitcher since at least 1999. Unfortunately, like Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano before him, Harden couldn't stymie the Dodgers' bats in the NLDS as Los Angeles swept the Cubs out of the playoffs. Nevertheless, he was so good that the Cubs gladly picked up his $7 million team option for 2009. The following campaign wasn't quite as memorable for Harden or the team — he pitched to a 4.09 ERA in 141 innings while the Cubs won 14 fewer games than the year before and missed the playoffs entirely — and he would walk in free agency over the offseason. He signed and played for the Rangers in 2010 before making his way back to Oakland in 2011, though a serious shoulder injury prevented a trade to the Boston Red Sox and all but ended the starter's career. He failed to latch on with the Twins after undergoing surgery, officially retiring from the game in 2013. View full player

If you're going to the game today, feel free to use this guide from our sister site: The Ultimate Fan Guide to Target Field - Minnesota Twins Guides & Resources - Twins Daily TWINSDAILY.COM This is the definitive guide to Target Field, by the fans and for the fans.

Alright, scouts. Now's your time to shine. LOTS of potential trade candidates in this series.

It will please you all to know that five Cubs (Tucker, Kelly, McGuire, Happ, Busch) have hit homers off of Fedde before.

Drew Pomeranz will give way to Jordan Wicks today. Hopefully it won't matter since the offense will hit 9 home runs, right?

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Prior to a July 4 drubbing of the St. Louis Cardinals where they set a franchise record for home runs, the Chicago Cubs were dealt devastating injury news: right-handed stater Jameson Taillon will miss the next month or more with a calf strain. In his stead, Jordan Wicks will take at least a few turns through the rotation, with his first scheduled to come today against the Cardinals. Obviously, the immediate aftermath of this injury is the stress it puts on the Cubs' already-perilous starting pitcher depth. Shota Imanaga's return from injury did ease some of the burden, but with Ben Brown needing plenty of seasoning in Triple-A Iowa after pronounced struggles in the big leagues, Chicago isn't exactly overflowing with options to handle innings if Wicks falters. Veteran swingman Chris Flexen, who has been a revelation out of the bullpen this year, does have a long and somewhat successful history of starting, but it feels like malpractice to displace him from the role in which he's thrived this season. Kenta Maeda is toiling down in Triple-A, but he's been a disaster all season and isn't on the 40-man roster. Connor Noland has been Iowa's most reliable starter, but his stuff isn't very impressive and he'd also have to take someone's spot on the 40-man roster. And then there's Brown, but at this point, he'll be relegated to "break glass in case of emergency" duty for the remainder of the season. Thus, the Cubs, who have already been mentioned incessantly in rumors for starting pitchers over the last few weeks, pretty much no longer have a choice on the trade market. They're going to have bring in one, if not multiple, surefire starters over the next few weeks. Ideally, they'd nab at least one "ace", or at least someone who profiles as a frontline counterpart to their southpaw duo of Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. With Taillon's availability now threatened for the foreseeable future, they'd also do well to bring in another quality innings eater, à la Dan Haren back in 2015. There's a number of quality options on the market, including Seth Lugo, Mitch Keller, Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcantara, Tyler Mahle, Zach Eflin, and more. Those pitchers all come with varying levels of team control (and recent success), though the Cubs can't be scared off by the potential acquisition cost for any of them. Prospects will be lost and — oh the horror — salary will be added to the team's bottom line, but Taillon's injury necessitates a need for reliable starters now more than ever. At 53-35, the Cubs have opened a sizable lead in the NL Central, and they could nab a bye in the first round of the playoffs if they can bypass the NL East winner in the final standings. Of course, in what's going to be a very favorable seller's market, the Cubs aren't going to have a ton of negotiating leverage. There's a lot more buyers (and neutral teams) than sellers in the three Wild Card format, and the injuries to Taillon, Justin Steele, and Javier Assad will prevent Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins from deploying any effective smokescreens. They need a starter, and you better believe every other team knows it. Alas, this is just the nature of baseball. The front office did well to build out the pitching depth over the offseason, as Boyd and Colin Rea have done amicable jobs filling in for Steele and Assad. They made things work when Imanaga went down for more than a month of action. Now, the chance to fortify the team and build out the championship version of this roster has arrived. Taillon's injury doesn't change anything other than making the Cubs more desperate. That's only a bad thing if it makes them too cautious. View full article

Nice job, Colin. No 20-0 perfect game. You've ruined July 4.

July 4th versus the Cardinals??? I am going to have to hold my tongue for the entire day...

Scott Feldman is a 13-year MLB veteran who played for six teams in his career, including half of the 2013 season with the Chicago Cubs. He was involved in one of the most important trades in franchise history. Originally drafted in the 41st round by the Houston Astros in 2002, the Texas Rangers took Feldman in Round 30 in 2003, securing the commitment of the College of San Mateo product and converting him into a reliever. After a Tommy John surgery and up-and-down minor league career, the Rangers converted him back into a starter in 2008, and he became a mainstay in their rotation from 2008-12, including drawing the Opening Day nod in 2010. After a strong postseason performance in 2011 as the Rangers made their second-straight run to the World Series, Feldman dealt with injuries and had his team option declined prior to the 2013 season. That's when the Cubs swooped in, signing Feldman to a one-year, $6 million deal in free agency. He was the team's No. 4 starter for the first half of the 2013 campaign, pitching to a 3.46 ERA in 15 starts (91 innings) heading into July. His presence on a young team was valuable, especially in a good-not-great rotation that featured Jeff Samardzija, Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson, and Travis Wood. However, the struggling 49-59 Cubs were never expected to compete, and Feldman was one of the best rental starters on the market. Thus, on July 2, 2013, the front office pulled the trigger on a history-altering trade, sending Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for pitchers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. The trade reunited Feldman with his first manager, Buck Showalter, though the Orioles would ultimately miss the playoffs with an 85-77 record, despite a strong second-half effort from the big righty (4.27 ERA in 15 starts). Of course, the deal worked out a tad better for Chicago, as Arrieta and Strop became Cubs icons who played massive roles in the team's 2016 World Series championship. After the season, Feldman signed in free agency with the Houston Astros, becoming their 2014 Opening Day starter. He had a good tenure in Houston, pitching to a 3.64 ERA in 73 appearances (52 starts) before getting moved back to the bullpen in 2016 and getting traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline. He then signed with the Reds in free agency and was subsequently named their Opening Day starter for the 2017 season. He became the 52nd pitcher in MLB history to start on Opening Day for at least three different teams. He retired after the campaign, and now, according to his LinkedIn profile, he is an entrepreneur and investor. View full player

Final 10 games before the All-Star break: Today v. Guardians 3 home games v. Cardinals 3 road games v. Twins 3 road games v. Yankees

Over at our cousin site, Fish on First, managing editor Ely Sussman put together a list of players the Marlins might deal at the deadline. Is there anyone you want the Cubs to pursue? Which players Marlins are most likely to sell at trade deadline - Marlins - Fish On First FISHONFIRST.COM Unlike last summer, the Marlins won't be tearing apart their entire roster to load up on prospects, but there are still opportunities for them to cash in on redundant players and sell...

Fun fact: the only Guardians player with a home run off Shota is... Steven Kwan.

Héctor Rondón is a former MLB relief pitcher who spent eight years in MLB, including parts of five seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Originally signed as an international free agent by the Cleveland Guardians in 2004, Rondón had a long, winding minor league career where he failed to get over the Triple-A hump. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and fractured the same elbow in Winter League ball in 2011. That all but signaled the end of his time in Cleveland, as the Guardians left him off their 40-man roster heading into the 2012 offseason, where the Cubs snatched the starter-turned-reliever with the seventh pick the Rule 5 Draft. Naturally, Rondón made the team out of camp, making his MLB debut with the Cubs on April 3, 2013. He had an up-and-down rookie campaign, firing off a 4.77 ERA that was backed up by a 4.40 FIP and 18.2% strikeout rate. It was in 2014 where his breakout truly occurred, as the right-handed reliever usurped José Veras for the team's closer gig, amassing a 2.42 ERA and 29 saves in 64 appearances. He went into the 2015 as the team's surefire closer, delivered an ever better season for a 97-win team — 1.67 ERA, 30 saves, 69 strikeouts in 70.0 innings — and slammed the door on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS with one of the most iconic strikeouts in Cubs history. He secured 18 more saves for the Cubs in the first half of 2016, though he slid into the primary set-up role when Chicago acquired Aroldis Chapman at the trade deadline. He was instrumental to the team's championship run, serving as one of few relievers in Joe Maddon's "circle of trust" while authoring a 4.50 ERA in six playoff innings. Rondón maintained his job as the set-up man in 2017, as the Cubs deployed Wade Davis as their primary closer. Following that campaign, the Cubs elected to non-tender Rondón, surprisingly letting go of one of the most successful Cubs relievers in recent memory. Following his release, Rondón signed a two-year contract with the Houston Astros, recording 15 saves and pitching to a 3.46 ERA while making another World Series appearance in 2019. After his stint in Houston, Rondón spent time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and attempted to make a MLB comeback in 2021 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. He ultimately retired from pro baseball in April 2021. View full player

Matthew Boyd faces his former team for the first time since departing Cleveland. Revenge game incoming?

As rookie third baseman Matt Shaw tries to bust out of his deep slump, the Cubs need to look elsewhere for hot corner options. Who should they pursue on the trade market? View full video

Over at our sister site, Talk Sox, one of our featured writers put together a list of trade targets for some trade deadline buyers to peruse. Any players here you want the Cubs to pursue? If the Red Sox Become Sellers, Expect These Players to Be Discussed in Trade Talks - Red Sox - Talk Sox TALKSOX.COM The Red Sox are hovering around .500 and somehow still within striking distance of a postseason position. Should that change before the end of July, they have enough talent on the big...

Can the Cubs get win No. 50 on the year?

The Cubs' ace has returned from injury, though they had to demote one of their most exciting arms to make room for him. View full video