The Chicago Cubs are currently leading the National League Central division. Although that is great news, the Milwaukee Brewers are only 2.5 games behind the Cubs. As this race could go down to the wire, the Cubs will be looking at any and all upgrades.
At this point last season, the Cubs were 46-45. The Cubs ended up winning the division with a 92-70 record last year. However, they may need more than 92 wins to secure a division title this season.
The Brewers and the Cubs both have 55 wins at the All-Star break this season. The Cubs division lead comes from having 5 fewer losses than the Brewers. As the Cubs have some games to make up, they have a tough task ahead.
Following the All-Star break, the Cubs will play 12 games in 11 days. An off day on August 30th was replaced with a road game in Atlanta. After a single game in Atlanta, the Cubs will move on to Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Washington D.C. These tough stretches could make or break their season.
Regardless of these stretches in the schedule, the Cubs have some holes that may need to be repaired. As their starting lineup is full of players with great on-base percentages, their focus may be mostly on pitching.
After Jake Arrieta declined an offer from the Cubs, they moved on to other starters this past offseason. The Cubs spent big on Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood, but they have both lacked effectiveness thus far. Darvish was signed to a six-year, $126 million contract. Chatwood was signed to a three-year, $38 million contract.
Darvish is currently on the disabled list and holds a 1-3 record on the season in 8 starts. In those starts, he has a 4.95 ERA, a 4.84 FIP, and a 1.425 WHIP. These numbers are all above his career averages in these categories.
Chatwood has been able to make 17 starts, but he holds a 3-5 record. In those starts, he has a 5.04 ERA, a 5.20 FIP, and a 1.774 WHIP. These numbers are all above the averages in these categories while pitching at altitude for the Rockies last season.
Even though these two contracts did not work out, they hit big with some other free agent pitchers.
Brandon Morrow was signed to a two-year, $21 million contract. Through 35 appearances, he holds a 1.47 ERA with 22 saves. His FIP is 2.95 and his WHIP is only 1.076. Morrow also has 31 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched.
Steve Cishek was signed to a two-year, $13 million contract. Through 45 appearances, he holds a 1.88 ERA with 3 saves. His FIP is 3.10 and his WHIP is only 1.023. Cishek has allowed 17 walks and 5 hit by pitches through 43.0 innings pitched. However, he has only allowed 27 hits and 9 earned runs in those innings.
The Cubs also made a smart waiver claim in the offseason. They claimed Randy Rosario off of waivers from the Minnesota Twins. Rosario gave up 8 earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched with the Twins last season. However, for the Cubs this season, he has only allowed 6 earned runs in 27.2 innings pitched.
Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, and Mike Montgomery are solid rotation arms. Brandon Morrow, Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, Justin Wilson, and Randy Rosario are solid relief arms. Therefore, the Cubs are only one more solid starting pitcher and one more solid relief pitcher away from a deep run in October.
As the Cubs mainly need pitching upgrades, there are three starting pitchers and two relievers worth keeping an eye on as trade targets.
The following are those five possible trade deadline candidates for the Chicago Cubs: