Unless Yankees are selling low on Joey Gallo, Cubs should steer clear

If you think there’s been a lack of power this season from Cubs bats, you’re definitely right. But it’s a bigger problem than that. The league, as a whole, is slugging just .366 which, carried over the course of an entire season, would be the lowest mark since the early 70s.

Still, that’s led to some speculating Chicago needs to prioritize adding power bats via trade – something I find to be pretty unlikely personally – but we’ll discuss a name I’ve seen floating around online lately in Joey Gallo.

Now, everyone knows the deal with Gallo. He’s got insane power – but also strikes out at a jaw-dropping rate. Except this year, it’s all strikeouts and no power. Given that’s the main way he provides offensive value, taking it out of what he offers is obviously problematic.

Entering play on Saturday, Gallo is striking out in more than 38 percent of his trips to the plate, but is homer-less and slugging just .122. After coming to the Bronx last summer and underperforming down the stretch, New York reportedly had trade talks surrounding the slugger with the Padres this spring – but never pulled the trigger on a deal.

There are a lot of factors at play here, including the Friars being up against the ceiling on payroll, but the biggest roadblock in a trade is the fact Brian Cashman isn’t simply looking to unload Gallo and his contract. There’s no thought of selling low on him. In fact, the Yankees are looking for a return equal to peak Gallo – which he hasn’t been since coming to New York.

So why are we talking about Gallo when it comes to the Cubs? Because this lineup sorely lacks power. Aside from Seiya Suzuki, only Patrick Wisdom is slugging north of .500 on the year. The new-look offense is very much a grind-it-out setup rather than living and dying with the long-ball.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you have to be able to drive the ball, at times – and the Cubs have run into their fair share of groundball-induced troubles early this year, hitting into a league-worst 17 double plays in just 14 games. 

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But completely jettisoning this new approach in its entirety and adding Gallo, especially on an overpay, certainly isn’t the solution here. If it was a contract dump and the Cubs could get some value back via an attached prospect or something like what we heard about in the Eric Hosmer talks? Sure. But I want no part of a guy whose entire game is predicated on hitting the ball out of the yard who, all of the sudden, can’t do it.