At 59-40, the Cubs are not only locked with the Brewers in a battle for the top spot in the NL Central, they’re also tied for the best record in the National League and a half-game behind the Tigers for the title of best team in baseball. While the dynamic offense, led by outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, has been the catalyst for the team and the hope for maintaining status as a contender, the pitching staff is a red flag.
Matthew Boyd is having a career year as a starter, at 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA. Shota Imanaga has been sharp (4-1, 1.78 ERA) since coming back from a hamstring injury, but with Jameson Taillon out until next month with a calf injury, manager Craig Counsell will have to keep his rotation together with chicken wire and bubble gum. He’s done that well so far, but if the Cubs seriously want to contend, they need a top-flight arm.
And according to one former GM, they’re determined to get one.
Cubs Priority: ‘Acquiring a Starting Pitcher’
Writing in The Athletic, ex-MLB GM Jim Bowden notes that the Cubs can be expected to make a bid on most every big-name pitcher on the market.
He named seven targets in an article titled, “MLB trade deadline intel: Where all 30 teams stand with 10 days to go”: “The Cubs’ top priority is acquiring a starting pitcher and their targets include the Pirates’ Mitch Keller, the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, and the Orioles’ Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano.”
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Cubs will do something to bolster the staff in the coming days. It will be a challenge, given that there are not many teams selling pieces at this year’s deadline, and that the Cubs’ system is in the process of being restocked following the ascension of PCA and third baseman Matt Shaw.
GM Jed Hoyer said it will be up to the team to be creative in finding solutions.
“I do think this is a year where there may be some creativity because there’s not a ton of obvious sellers,” Hoyer said. “It could be a little bit of a strange market that way, so I do think that you try to think about things creatively as you think about different teams, because some deadlines it’s very obvious.”
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