Chicago Cubs: Several former Chicago hurlers could be low-cost trade targets

Clayton Richard – SD – 110 IP, 4.66 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 1.1 WAR

Contract: 1 year/$1.75 million, free agency: 2018

Fun fact: Clayton Richard has a World Series ring.

I don’t know why I didn’t remember this, but the left-hander was with Chicago until early August last season. He made 25 appearances totaling just 14 innings, posting an unsavory 6.43 ERA – prompting his release.

The season prior, he proved to be a valuable member of the bullpen for the Cubs. He ate up 42-plus innings for Chicago in 2015, posting a 3.58 FIP for the NL Wild Card winning-ballclub. He’s got a lengthy history of being a decent back-end starter – making more than 30 starts twice (2017 is on-pace to be his third).

Now make no mistake, Richard is no world-beater. He’s going to take the ball every fifth day and, by and large, will keep you in the game. This season with the Padres, he’s allowed four or fewer earned runs in all but five of his 18 starts. So there’s clearly some rough outings in there, but, for the most part, he does his job.

He’s spent all but two years of his career with either the Cubs or Padres. And with San Diego going nowhere yet again in 2017, he’s likely to be available.

The Pros

He adds another left-hander to the mix. Maybe he turns into a long-man for Chicago or he takes Lackey’s spot in the  rotation – who knows. But he turned in quality work on the North Side back in 2015 and was solid even after he joined San Diego last season.

On a one-year deal, a mid-level prospect deal could bring him back to the Cubs for a stretch run.

The Cons

He leads the league in hits allowed and won’t impact your rotation all that much. Pitching in Wrigley Field late in the summer can be lethal to a pitcher that doesn’t miss bats (he’s averaging just 5.6 K/9 in his career). Furthermore, he serves up more than a hit per inning.

Chicago features two lefties in the rotation right now. If you’re really going to add a third, you’d like him to be an impact arm – or, at the very least, a young arm with room to grow. We know what Richard is – and that’s not anything special.