If the Chicago Cubs are looking for a lightning bolt to jolt their season up to the next level, they might want to consider taking a lesson from recent, franchise-altering history.
At 37-22, the Cubs currently have the third-best record in MLB and a 4.0-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central division. The team’s success has been spurred primarily by an offense that has spent the entire season near the top of the league in runs scored per game.
Pitching, meanwhile, has been a struggle, with MLB analysts making the relatively easy prediction that Chicago will seek more arms before the trade deadline. And according to Jed Hoyer, Cubs’ president of baseball operations, it doesn’t really matter if those arms are more accustomed to pitching during the beginning, middle, or end of games.
“To quote our manager [Craig Counsell,] ‘We just need to get outs,’” Hoyer said when asked about prioritizing the rotation or the bullpen for potential improvements.
Which is where the history lesson could come in handy. Because there is a pitcher, potentially available via trade, who has made a long career of getting outs. Who has earned a reputation for ending late innings before they even get started. Who has built a Hall of Fame case by doing things that very few other pitchers do.
Who was instrumental in helping the Cubs snap a 108-year title drought.
With the trade deadline just under two months away, speculation has started to grow over a potential reunion between the Cubs and hard-throwing Boston Red Sox reliever Aroldis Chapman.
Acquiring Reliever Aroldis Chapman ‘Makes A Lot of Sense’ for Chicago
On July 25, 2016, Chicago sent a quartet of players, including shortstop Gleyber Torres, to the New York Yankees for Chapman, who was dominant during the last two months of the regular season and the playoffs, helping the Cubs win their first World Series title since 1908. Newsweek contributor Drew VonScio suggests that bringing the band back together for another title run in 2025 “makes a lot of sense.”
“If Chicago wants to challenge the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, adding Chapman should be a priority for them,” VonScio wrote.
The Red Sox signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.75 million deal in the offseason, and so far, they have gotten their money’s worth. The 37-year-old left-hander, who still averages 99.2 mph on his fastball, is 3-2 with nine saves and a 1.88 ERA in 26 appearances. He has struck out 32 batters against just nine walks in 24 innings.
In an analysis of potential player movement, Seth Carlson and David Hill of YardBarker stated that Chapman is “easily Boston’s top tradable asset” if (when?) the team, currently 29-33 and 9.0 games out of first place in the AL East, decides to be a seller at the deadline.
Aroldis Chapman Could Bring Stability to Shaky Cubs Bullpen
Enter the Cubs, whose bullpen has been a bit of a roller coaster ride this season.
Ryan Pressly was acquired in a January trade with the hopes of being the team’s closer, but he struggled early in the season and was eventually removed from the ninth-inning role. Porter Hodge was next to take on the closing duties, but he was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 18 with a left oblique injury, and reports indicate Hodge is now dealing with an issue in his left hip that will keep him out longer. Daniel Palencia, a 25-year-old in the midst of what could be his first full MLB season, has successfully handled the assignment in recent weeks, but given the volatile nature of the role, it feels overly optimistic to think that will last into October.
Put bluntly, the Cubs need help in the late innings. And an old friend, who is third among active pitchers with 344 career saves, may just be the one who can provide it.
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