Chicago Cubs: 3 Non-starters to look at ahead of the trade deadline

The Chicago Cubs currently sit atop a jampacked NL Central and seemed well-positioned to be playing baseball in October. The Achilles heel of the team has certainly been their lackluster rotation, which has been reiterated to exhaustion and it should certainly be the Cubs’ primary focus at the deadline. However, the Cubs are not a perfect team outside of their rotation, and they should look at other positions of need as well.

Kris Bryant has taken a step back offensively as of late which makes it seem as though the infield may be a target for the Cubs at the deadline, but with Matt Duffy set to return relatively soon, along with Bote and Hoerner getting back into the mix soon, it’s probably not as big of an issue in the front offices’ eyes. Throw in Patrick Wisdom and Sergio Alcantara’s production since being called up, and the Cubs may soon have a log jam to sort out on the infield.

The lineup is not without its problems, however. Though many such as myself have grown to love Jason Heyward over his years on the northside, he has struggled immensely this season. If the Cubs want to make a run in October, the outfield needs to be something they address, along with other minor touch-ups to the roster.

Chicago Cubs: The backup catcher role needs a legitimate answer

The infamous Yu Darvish trade opened up two pretty big holes on the roster for the Cubs. Losing Darvish obviously took away the team’s true ace, but giving up Victor Caratini has also proven to be a big blow as well. Caratini spoiled us all with his solid play as Contreras’ backup for the better part of three seasons, and the club has been unable to fill the void thus far in 2021.

The Cubs have used four different backup catchers this season and none have been even marginally effective. Austin Romine took nine at-bats this season before being put on the 60-day IL, Tony Wolters was DFA’d twice, PJ Higgins was put on the 60-day IL and the Cubs are now down to Jose Lobaton. Chicago needs to find an actual backup so that Contreras doesn’t have to play every day, and Max Stassi is a perfect fit.

Stassi has been a very solid defender this season, with Baseball Savant putting him in the 63rd percentile of framing for catchers. He’s also been very good at the plate in his limited at-bats this season, slashing a very strong .310/.395/.577 over 81 plate appearances. Stassi has been a very good backup catcher for a couple of years now with the Angels and given their struggles in the bullpen, the Cubs are a perfect match for a deal as the North Siders are suddenly flush with reliever depth.

Chicago Cubs: Michael Fulmer could be another bullpen weapon

Once upon a time, Michael Fulmer was the hottest trade chip on the market. In 2017 Fulmer was coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016 and was having another great season in the Detroit rotation and teams were offering ridiculous packages that would be inconceivable today to try and pry him away from the Tigers.

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The Chicago Cubs were one such team, offering Javier Baez to Detroit in an attempt to get Fulmer in Chicago. Luckily, the Tigers refused and after regressing hard in the years after, Fulmer now has been put in the bullpen where he has experienced a career rebirth.

Jed Hoyer was a part of the front office that tried to get Fulmer to Chicago, so there’s likely still to be some interest there. Fulmer has been one of the several closers the Tigers have used this season and he has excelled in the role. Since being moved to the bullpen early in the year, Fulmer’s SO/9 has jumped to 11.1 and he’s walked just five batters in 24 1/3 innings out of the pen. He also has an ERA of just 2.96 and his advanced metrics have been pretty good as well.

Obviously, the bullpen has not been an issue for the Cubs, but why not make your strength almost impossible to beat? Replacing someone like Dillon Maples with Michael Fulmer gives you an extra higher leverage arm as opposed to someone you’d only use when a game is out of reach. Fulmer would make the Cubs bullpen a monster of a challenge to score off of, and he probably won’t cost much to get.