Chicago Cubs: Five potential trades to make with the National League West

Chicago Cubs: A low-risk gamble might just pay off in the pen

Sometimes the best moves are the ones that don’t get made. Still others are so small at the time that no one is even watching. So goes trades and possible trades in professional sports as well. When dealing with a club that has a ton of prospect assets at their disposal, money is usually the best way to help yourself get what you want.

However, we’ve established time and time again (despite mostly foolish hope and optimism that it might be possible to spend loosely) that the Cubs don’t seem willing to take on any more money at this time. In order to work a deal with the prospect-laden Padres, it would seem that the trade would have to be for a player who would help both teams out in the near future. Or it could just be for a cast-off who the organization doesn’t see a fit with/for.

In that vein, the Cubs could make a play on a guy who has had a rough couple years but once started his career in a promising way. Kyle Barraclough hasn’t had a good season since 2017, with peripherals that don’t paint a pretty picture for the right-handed reliever. With velocity dipping and walk numbers rising, this is a guy who may be at a career crossroads. However, it’s also a guy who may just need a new pitching coach or a new organization to regain what he once had.

After a lousy 2018 in Miami, he had an even worse 2019 in Washington and San Francisco. Given a minor-league deal and an invite to big league camp, it wouldn’t take much for the Cubs to either get Barraclough for nothin if he doesn’t make the Padres roster out of camp or for a little something if they value him before then. If it’s just a lottery ticket guy or cash, and the Cubs see a guy they can work with or fix, Chicago is just the place for the broken and misfit reliever toys. Who knows- maybe Tommy Hottovy can even play the part of King Moonracer?