Could the Cubs have interest in reportedly available Padres closer Robert Suarez?

In a bit of a surprise to the baseball world, the San Diego Padres have reportedly made it known that they are listening to offers on flame-throwing closer Robert Suarez.

Suarez had an outstanding 2024 season for San Diego, appearing in 65 games and racking up 36 saves to go along with a solid 2.77 ERA. He is known for his electric fastball, which averages 99 MPH. He pairs that with a sinker that averages 98.8 MPH. Opponents hit just .182 against Suarez's sinker in 2024.

So, what exactly would make him a good fit for the Cubs? The lack of velocity in the back end of Chicago's bullpen is a concern. Porter Hodge finished the season as Chicago's closer in 2024, but the young right-hander's fastball averages just 95.5 MPH, well below what we see from most closers in today's game.

Adding a powerful arm like Suarez to bring in behind Hodge would be a huge boost for Chicago, which hasn't had a true high-velocity closer since Aroldis Chapman in 2016. It would certainly take quite a package to acquire Suarez, and we know that the Cubs front office is not afraid to make a splash as we saw with the Kyle Tucker acquisition last month. Here is what a potential package for Suarez could look like.

This gives Chicago the high-leverage arm it needs and gives San Diego a nice return on positional depth in Alcantara, Triantos and Long and a rotation piece in Wicks, who looks like an odd man out heading into the 2025 season.

There is, however, a complicating factor in all of this. The five-year, $46 million deal Suarez signed that runs through 2027 has an opt-out at the end of the 2025 season - meaning you could, potentially, be paying for a rental as opposed to three years of a high-end reliever. That makes it a lot harder for teams to align on a value in a deal - but it's definitely possible.

Who knows how likely it is that the Padres will actually move Suarez (they're listening on a number of players in efforts to clear some payroll), but if they do, the Cubs should be one of the first teams to call and make Padres president of baseball operations and general manager AJ Preller an offer he can't refuse.