Playing GM for the Cubs: Three MLB trade deadline moves for Chicago after losing NL Central lead

The Chicago Cubs haven’t been to the playoffs in a full season since 2018 and that was just one game, as they lost the Wild Card back when it was a one-and-done. They’re coming off back-to-back 83-win seasons. They’ve been one of the best teams in baseball this season, but things haven’t always been easy.

The roster, in fact, has several obvious holes and club president Jed Hoyer’s contract is up at the end of this season, five years after taking over in November 2020. Is he desperate? Maybe, maybe not, but whether he wants to stay in Chicago or move on, he needs to win. The Cubs currently sit 60-42, a game behind the Brewers in the NL Central and five games up in the wild-card race. They may have lost their brief hold on the best record in baseball, but Caesars gives them -3000 odds to make the playoffs.

Yes, the Cubs are expected to be aggressive buyers in front of this deadline. Hoyer’s been known to be a bit gun shy on major moves in the past, but keep in mind he traded for All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker over the winter. Hoyer gave up Isaac Paredes and top prospect (at the time) Cam Smith for one year of Tucker. Given what has transpired this season and the holes the Cubs have, surely this isn’t the time to be bashful and prospect hug. 

Three items pretty immediately present themselves in assessing the Cubs’ roster if we’re wondering whether or not they can win the World Series. 

First up would be starting pitching. Lefty frontline starter Justin Steele has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery. Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd are a pair of All-Stars at the top while Jameson Taillon is a mid-rotation starter. Youngster Cade Horton is going to run up against an innings limit at some point, Ben Brown isn’t an answer this season as a full-time starter and Colin Rea has never had an above-average season as a full-time starter. A playoff rotation with Imanaga, Boyd and someone to put in front of either Taillon or Rea would be ideal here.

Secondly, the bullpen has been showing cracks since having a multi-month run of elite work. 

And finally, though rookie third baseman Matt Shaw has shown flashes of his upside, especially since the All-Star break, he’s still hitting .221/.291/.324 (79 OPS+) this season. He could either be dangled as part of a trade or simply held with the belief he’s still the long-term solution and just replaced for the rest of this season.

Here are three moves I’d make if I were in Hoyer’s shoes. 

1. Trade for Eugenio Suárez

The Cubs have had one of baseball’s best offenses this year, sometimes winning with pure power and sometimes with small ball and speed. Shaw has not done much of either. Sure, he’s a former prospect and maybe it’s too early to give up on him but this is “go for it” time, not the time for hopes and vibes. Adding Suárez makes the Cubs’ lineup an utter juggernaut. There’s always concern about slumps in the playoffs and the best way to guard against that is to have as few lineup holes as possible. Suárez is a much more sure thing on offense than Shaw. 

The Cubs currently have seven players on pace to hit at least 20 homers with Michael Busch on pace for 30+ and both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki on pace to top 40. Suárez already has 36. And, again, there’s a lot of speed. Plus the Cubs rank fourth in the majors in team batting average. 

That would be quite the scary playoff lineup to navigate.

The Cubs have found a quirk with the “new” Wrigley Field (the one with the videoboards in left-center and right field) and the Chicago wind patterns that has caused them to favor lefty hitters and lefty pitchers. They struck gold with Imanaga and Boyd. Keep in mind, Steele is a lefty, too. 

So is Gore, the Nationals’ ace.

Gore, 26, is under team control through 2027. That’s a big bonus for the Cubs if they are looking to acquire him. Meantime, if the Nats are looking for a reset, they probably aren’t planning to contend in the next two seasons so it makes sense to grab some of those Cubs prospects who are close to the majors. It’s a nice fit. 

Some order of Gore, Imanaga and Boyd as a top three in the playoffs with either Rea or Taillon is enough to put up a fight against any team in October. Rea could probably help the bullpen and maybe the Cubs find value with Brown in a short-inning role the rest of the way. That could help matters with the relief corps. They can grab more on the trade market, too. 

Another option would be lefty reliever Danny Coulombe, but Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz as the Cubs’ lefties have worked well overall. Closer Daniel Palencia has been outstanding and could keep the role. The worrisome leverage relievers have been Ryan Pressly and Brad Keller, both late-inning righties. Pomeranz has had three awful outings in July, so if it’s possible we could always just add Coulombe and Fairbanks, right?

Fairbanks has plenty of experience in both closing and setting up and could make a deadly combo with Palencia. He also has a club option for just $7 million for next season, so the Cubs getting Fairbanks from the Rays would be a nice move that helps both this season and next.