The Chicago Cubs have, already, made more than enough noise in the trade market this season with their acquisition of White Sox ace Jose Quintana. The trade deadline is now fast approaching, and other big names like Alex Avila, Justin Verlander, Jonathan Lucroy and Sonny Gray have all been on the Cubs radar. However, considering the team handed over their top prospect in Eloy Jimenez to the White Sox, and does not plan on sending off anyone that was apart of last year’s World Series winning squad, acquiring one of those big name players will be hard to come by.
With the team off to a strong second half start, it’s possible the Cubs front office will begin to look elsewhere as the final hours of the deadline tick away. A backup veteran catcher remains a priority for this young Cubs team, and finding themselves consistent bullpen arms for a playoff push is always important.
While the Cubs are, most likely, out of the conversation on certain names, there are other important role players that could be wearing Cubbie blue by the time August comes around.
C Nick Hundley and RHP George Kontos
San Francisco Giants
Nick Hundley is a backup catching option that could work wonders for the Cubs. The 33-year-old has plenty of experience under his belt, and acts as a well-rounded player who can give the team production at the plate as well as behind it. Hundley has been in the backup position numerous times throughout his career. In addition, he has played alongside a variety of pitchers like Henry Blanco, Buster Posey and Yasmani Grandal.
Hundley’s past experiences gives him an understanding of the game that not everyone has; not to mention, he could act as a great mentor to the Cubs primary catcher Willson Contreras.
The Cubs could acquire Hundley for a prospect or two, but with the Giants firmly in last place in the NL West, the front office may be interested in also nabbing a relief pitcher. George Kontos is a veteran arm that could add stability to a still rocky Chicago Cubs bullpen. Year after year Kontos has been a productive piece on the mound for the Giants. He has a 3.04 career ERA and has pitched in several playoff games including one World Series game.
The Cubs may want to look somewhere else for a bullpen addition, but if the Giants want a couple more prospects, this could be the way to go for both teams.
LHP Zach Britton
Baltimore Orioles
Zach Britton finished last season with a .054 ERA, making him worthy of a fourth place American League Cy Young finish. While this season has been a bit of a different story, as Britton currently has a 3.44 ERA, he is still an elite bullpen pitcher.
As of now, the Astros are reported to be interested in the 29-year-old as they look to make their bullpen even stronger for a deep playoff run. Although, if the Astros don’t act fast it is possible other team’s in the hunt for a playoff run will be making a call to Baltimore.
Even with guys like Wade Davis, Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr. the Cubs are still in desperate need of a bullpen upgrade. Britton would be an amazing addition to help the Cubs prevent runs from scoring late in ball games. Being able to use him as a setup man to Wade Davis would make for an extremely tough pitching matchup. Moving back Edwards Jr. and Strop would also help Joe Maddon when having to take out his starting pitchers, as many of them have struggled to go deep in ball games this season.
Considering the Cubs have Wade Davis as their closer, going after Britton seems like an obscure idea. However, the move would be very similar to the Cleveland Indians acquisition of Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees at the 2016 trade deadline. The Orioles need prospects and could be interested in a big one with Jeimer Candelario.
While the Cubs pulling this off seems a bit ridiculous, don’t put it past a guy like Theo Epstein.
If you would like to receive an email each time a new Chicago Cubs article is published, fill out our email notification form.
The post Chicago Cubs trade rumors: Two surprising moves the Cubs could make as the deadline looms appeared first on isportsweb.