Cubs, despite need for starting pitching, should trade this rotation stalwart at deadline

Given the Cubs' clear and obvious need for an upgrade (or upgrades) in their starting rotation, I imagine this opinion will be rather unpopular, but here goes: the team should trade Jameson Taillon prior to the trade deadline.

Now, this isn't meant to suggest that Taillon has been bad. He's been perfectly adequate at the back of the Cubs' rotation, and he's given the team some much-needed length and stability in an injury-plagued campaign.

However, acknowledging how... cost-conscious the team has been in recent seasons under the Ricketts' stewardship, Taillon isn't pitching like a guy worth an $18 million salary ($17 million luxury tax figure). At 33, he is who he is, and he could better serve the Cubs as a salary-matcher in a deadline blockbuster than as an expensive No. 4 starter.

Colin Rea has rendered Jameson Taillon expendable in Cubs' rotation

By this point, Cubs fans know Taillon's strengths and weaknesses quite well.

He's got good control and limits walks. His deep arsenal does a good job against right-handed hitters, and he's generally good for at least five solid innings per start.

However, also gives up a ton of home runs and gets smacked around by lefties, making him a bad matchup against a number of lineups in a number of parks.

As things stand, Taillon is the No. 3 starter in the Cubs' rotation and would make a start in any playoff series that makes it past a 2-0 sweep in the Wild Card round. Justin Steele isn't returning to push him down the pecking order, and Javier Assad remains MIA.

Considering that presumptive No. 4 starter Colin Rea is authoring a very similar season as Taillon — at less than one-third the cost — I wager that the Cubs could do worse than leaving Rea in his position and moving Taillon for some third base or bench help (while acquiring a true co-ace to Shota Imanaga in another deal).

Both Rea and Taillon have ERAs between 4.30 and 4.50, they're both averaging more than five innings per start, and they're striking out and walking hitters at similar rates. It's not outrageous to suggest they've been equally valuable pitchers this year (WAR certainly agrees), and Rea is certainly giving the Cubs more bang for their buck.

Taillon is steady enough, and has enough name-brand value, to be worth something in a trade with a fellow contender in need of serious rotation help. The Mets stand out as an obvious partner in this hypothetical scenario, and they've got enough bats on hand to give the Cubs a boost to their offensive depth.

Again, this scenario presupposes that the Cubs will make a move for one of the better starters available at the deadline — someone who is an upgrade over Taillon, whether or not he's still on the roster.

Given how important pitching depth is during the stretch run, it's probably organizational malpractice to trade a guy who has made quality starts more often than not this season (10 in 17 starts). Still, for a team with championship aspirations, his sizable salary can be better allocated elsewhere on the roster, particularly for a pitcher who can support Imanaga and Matthew Boyd at the start of a postseason series.