3 big-name closers the Cubs should look to trade for ahead of the deadline

Given Phil Maton's inconsistencies (his latest blow-up in Atlanta doing little to calm any fears), it appears the Chicago Cubs will need some late-inning help to pair with Daniel Palencia if they're going to end the Milwaukee Brewers' hold on the division and the Los Angeles Dodgers' hold on the National League (and, really, the baseball world).

If we're being frank, it's not just in the late innings the Cubs need help. The bullpen, as a whole, has left much to be desired - not surprising, given the laundry list of injuries the staff has suffered. Not only has the pen been bit hard by the injury bug, but losses in the rotation has pulled depth from the relief corps as Craig Counsell plugs holes the best he can.

We know the Cubs are scouring the market for starting pitching help, but if they want to pull off a move similar to the one they made ten years ago for Aroldis Chapman, here are 3 potential high-profile options.

3 potential Cubs trade targets that would be true late-inning weapons

Aroldis Chapman

No need burying the lede on this one. Aroldis Chapman, while not quite as overpowering as he was a decade ago, is still one of the top closers in baseball. Last year with the Boston Red Sox, he earned his eighth All-Star selection and finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting after posting a 1.17 ERA and 1.73 FIP in 67 appearances.

Back in Boston after re-upping via a one-year, $13.3 million deal with a mutual option for 2027, Chapman has been even better in 2026, with a 0.66 ERA in 14 appearances, in which he's averaged more than a dozen strikeouts per nine. With Boston already looking like sellers, what better way to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the World Series-winning team than by bringing Chapman back to pair with Palencia late in games?

Ryan Helsley

I know we all talk about how that Cubs dynasty never developed the way we thought it would, but at least we made some noise and got a ring before the train went off the rails. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles, who just a few short years ago looked to be on the precipice of something truly special have instead turned into a perennial disappointment.

The O's brought in former St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley on a fairly reasonable two-year, $24 million pact last winter and, prior to hitting the IL with elbow inflammation, he rewarded them with a 2.53 ERA in a dozen appearances to go along with 12.7 K/9.

Assuming he bounces back quickly from the injury and proves he's healthy, he could make for a hot commodity ahead of the trade deadline - and could bring some badly-needed year-to-year consistency to a Cubs bullpen that's largely been pieced together annually for some time.

Josh Hader

We'll close this list out with the least likely (for multiple reasons we'll get into) option in Josh Hader. Currently rehabbing from biceps tendonitis, the flamethrowing lefty is nearing a return - which will be his 2026 debut for a Houston Astros team desperate for someone to stay healthy and move the needle in the right direction.

Houston owner Jim Crane isn't a 'sell' type of guy. But with his team 11 games under .500, the Astros' decade-plus window of contention may finally be closing (we have said this before only to be proven wrong, but this time feels different). Trading Hader could be a nice way to jump-start a rebuild. Only problem? He's due $38 million total over the 2027-28 seasons and teams may be wary to send top-tier talent in a deal for a closer in his mid-30s.

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