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Chicago Cubs: Moves to make if the season goes bad by the All-Star break
The way the Chicago Cubs are playing, it’s not farfetched to say they could be out of contention by July. We take a look at what the roster shakeups could look like.
The Cubs are 32-33 halfway through June. I know right? Ugggggghhhh.
Now that we got that out-of-the-way, it’s time we talk about the absolute worst case scenario that no one thought was possible heading into the season.
The very thought of the Cubs falling out of contention at all this season was laughable. I mean, with this roster? Yeah right.
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However here we are 2.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and 8 games out of a Wild Card spot. Now the division is still totally winnable, but let’s assume for a second that the team doesn’t get it together and is out of it by the time the trade deadline arrives.
The mere mention of the term ‘sellers’ attached to a team like the Cubs should make fans shutter. However, the front office can’t stay quiet if they find themselves in that position. Here we’ll delve into a few moves that could come to fruition.
Jake Arrieta
A free agent at the end of the season, if the Cubs aren’t in a position to make the playoffs then they should trade Jake Arrieta to the highest bidder. The right-hander’s agent Scott Boras has made it clear that his client should get a sizable deal, and it doesn’t look like the Cubs are the team to give it to him.
Rather than lose him for nothing, the team should let him go for whatever they can get. Since contenders will be the only one’s interested, a nice prospect haul is a preferred return; preferably young pitching.
Given everything Arrieta’s done in a Cubs uniform, trading him would be tough. However being that it’s highly unlikely he’s coming back it’s better to get something for him now than nothing later.
Albert Almora
The reasoning behind signing Jon Jay to a one-year deal was clear. He would help Albert Almora Jr. ease into his first full season, and eventually the starting CF spot next year.
If the Cubs fall out of contention though then there’s no reason why the young outfielder should be sitting. He needs to be playing every day if they have nothing to play for.
Almora has had a nice season, slashing .293/.346/.415 with a nice 102 wRC+ in 134 plate appearances. Should we expect those numbers to stay the same with more at-bats? Well no, but it would be nice to see what he can do in an everyday role when there are no negatives to doing so.
Ok, so you knew this was coming. Regardless of where the Cubs are at in the standings, this writer is a firm believer that the Cubs need an arm.
Nonetheless, Cubs’ pitching has been a major disappointment. If the team is out of it come the end of July then it’ll no doubt be the pitching that’ll do them in. Therefore all the more reason to load up for the foreseeable future.
The team could opt for a can’t-miss prospect over a player already in the majors, but really any long-term option will do. Luckily the team has plenty of players who will net high value in a trade to choose from. They could realistically get almost anybody they want–if they really wanted to.
Now there’s still a lot of baseball left. Being that the Milwaukee Brewers are winning the division right now and the Cubs are only a few games back a lot has to happen for the Cubs do be in a position like this.
Do I think any of this will happen? No, but it never hurts to speculate. Who knows, the team could go on a hot streak soon and be up by 5+ by the All-Star Game and all this will be irrelevant.
No one thought the Cubs would be under .500 in mid-June. The reality of a playoff-less season is slowly setting in. Preparations must be made if it hits hard in the near future.