The All-Star break has come and gone and the Cubs had one sole representative there in Seattle. All-Stars Dansby Swanson and Marcus Stroman both stayed home due to injury so the weight of the team fell on Justin Steele's shoulders. The Pride of Lucedale Mississippi made Cubs fans proud with his performance pitching a scoreless inning striking out Jonah Heim in the process. But now what? The Cubs sit at 42-47 in 3rd place but just 7 games back from a young Reds team that ended the first half scorching hot. This division is WIDE open with the Cubs being the only team with a positive run differential (+26) and now is the time for them to be buyers and support this window that is starting to open on the Northside.
The 2nd-half schedule is much easier than the first and it'll be unbelievably important for the Cubs to get off to a hot start before the deadline. They'll face the Red Sox (48-43), Washington (36-54), St. Louis (38-52), White Sox (38-54), and then the Cards again for a total of 17 games (11 at home). These are all beatable teams and the Cubs should be heading into the deadline with a winning record closing in on 1st place in the division. So what do they need and who are some possible players out there?
Trade Deadline Needs:
Relief Pitching - It's always important to add relief depth at the deadline but this team needs it bad. The Cubs rank 9th in Team bullpen ERA and dead last in saves amongst NL teams. Hopefully they've found something in Adbert Alzolay in the backend of the bullpen but they need to find some guys they can rely on to replace the anxiety inducing guys named Michael Fulmer, Michael Rucker, and Julian Merryweather.
Some Names:
David Bednar - The Pirates should be sellers and Bednar will be entering Arbitration at the end of the year.
Alex Lange
Joe Kelly - Hasn't been great this year but should come at a cheap price.
Josh Hader - Weird to think the Padres could be sellers but they're 8.5 games back and the next few weeks should clear this all up.
Giovanny Gallegos - The Cardinals have come out and said they're ready to sell at the deadline so why not cherry pick from this team.
Starting Pitching - The top of the rotation has been PHENOMENAL producing 2 all-stars this year in Stro and Steele. But the bottom of the rotation has been sketchy at best. Drew Smyly has a 4.50 ERA and has been especially bad over his past 6 starts walking nearly as many guys as he's striking out giving up .75 runs per inning pitched. Taillon has been slightly better lately and is coming off his best start yet but still boasts a 6.15 ERA and isn't the most reliable.
Some Names:
Lucas Giolito - Pre 2017 I would've said there's no way a trade like this could possibly happen but why not? The Sox are cooked and are going to enter another rebuild. Maybe they want Nicky Mads back?
Eduardo Rodriguez - E-Rod is coming off a finger injury but should be on the market and would absolutely help this rotation.
Jordan Montgomery - Beat em and take their talent.
3rd Baseman - It's no surprise that 3rd base has been a question mark for the Cubs during the first half of the season. Since Madrigal was called up he's been great on both sides of the ball but it would be hard to bank on this for the rest of the season. Patrick Wisdom would struggle in Iowa right now. And Christopher Morel is very streaky and can easily be shifted to be a 4th/5th outfielder instead.
ONE NAME:
Jeimer Candelario - Bring him home. Jeimer was signed by the Cubs back in 2010 and made his MLB debut in 2016 but unfortunately wasn't on the roster for the World Series run. The next year he was part of a terrible trade that saw Alex Avila and Justin Wilson come back in return. Bring the boy home and let him destroy some baseballs out onto Waveland/Sheffield.
What To Look For:
The first 7 games will decide the season. Need Steele, Stroman, and Hendricks to put the first series on their back. With Dansby starting the 2nd half of the season on the IL, Nico will shift over to shortstop and we'll be looking for him to get going after a slumpy start to the month of July. This will also force Nicky Mads and Morel to play a bigger part of the offense at 2nd/3rd. Need Morel to find the power and confidence again as his energy can be extremely contagious. I'll also be watching the back end of the bullpen, specifically Alzolay and Palencia, to see if they can continue to bring the energy and lock down games.
Depending on what happens at the deadline, keep your eyes on PCA. He's currently still in AA but should get the promotion to Iowa soon and if the Cubs decide to slot Bellinger and Mike Tauchman (The Pride of Palatine) cools off, there will be a clear need for Pete Crow-Armstrong on the MLB roster. I don't think it'll happen until late August but if he continues to tear up minor league arms, there's no reason he shouldn't get called up this year. I also wouldn't be surprised if Alexander Canario, who was just added to the Iowa Cubs roster, gets a shot here with the club soon. Canario suffered that freak injury in the Dominican Winter league breaking his ankle running through the bag at first and then dislocating his shoulder on the fall to the ground. He has a BIG bat that the Cubs could really use.
Another thing to look for is the new Draftkings Sportsbook that has debuted at Addison and Sheffield. While they don't have their license yet for gambling, it still looks like an awesome place to consume sports with TVs everywhere.
Outside of that, I'll be looking to have an amazing time in the heart of summer at The Federal Landmark. There's nothing better than warm weathered baseball on the northside.