The Chicago Cubs made baseball’s boldest move over the winter and now it could propel another one.
The Cubs opted to leverage some controllable talent to acquire superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros, taking on a player in his final year of arbitration eligibility as a dramatic win-now gamble. So far, that move has paid off, as the Cubs sit in first place in the National League Central division. But if they don’t build on it at the trade deadline, things could still go wrong.
“The Cubs didn’t trade third baseman Isaac Paredes and prized young outfielder Cam Smith for one guaranteed year of All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker to sit back at the trade deadline now,” Bob Nightengale wrote for USA Today. “Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations, whose contract expires after the season, knows what’s at stake.”
As the team looks to upgrade ahead of the trade deadline, it seems clear Hoyer will be searching for a pitcher capable of starting a playoff game. After losing ace Justin Steele and Javier Assad to injury and with Shota Imanaga still on the mend, the rotation is the biggest area of need. Particularly after the team decided young righty Ben Brown wasn’t ready for the big leagues, optioning him to Triple-A on Tuesday.
Now, the Cubs are evaluating several potential trade additions, including Luis Severino, who was an All-Star for the New York Yankees in 2017 and 2018 before moving on to the New York Mets last season and now the Athletics.
“They are scouring the market for a starter, keeping a close eye on (Sandy) Alcantara (2 ½ years remaining on his 5-year, $56 million contract), (Mitch) Keller (3 ½ years remaining on his 5-year, $70 million deal) and Luis Severino of the Athletics (2 ½ years remaining on his 3-year, $67 million contract),” per Nightengale.
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The Athletics sit in last place in the American League West division with a 32-49 record, though it’s not clear if they will really opt to sell at the deadline. The franchise faces some pressure to field a winner as it works toward a move to Las Vegas.
But if Severino is placed on the trade block, he could make sense for the Cubs. He has a 4.42 ERA in 16 starts so far this year and could represent a veteran back-end replacement for Brown.
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