Chicago Cubs Rumors: 2 bargain bin options that could add power to the lineup

The Chicago Cubs are are on the outside looking in with regards to the playoff picture right now. At the time of writing the Cubs are a half-game out of the final Wild Card spot and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds for that position. Those three are also only ahead of their NL Central foe Pittsburgh Pirates by a half-game as well so things are tight to say the least.

In order to become contenders for that final playoff spot the Cubs are going to need to make some roster changes. The bullpen has gotten better recently and so has the offense but it seems like the team just can’t seem to put everything together for nine innings at a time, so it’s time to shake things up.

If Jed Hoyer’s unwillingness to deal valuable assets over the last several trade deadlines can provide a template of what to expect it would be foolish for fans to imagine Pete Alonso or Mason Miller suiting up at Wrigley Field anytime soon, but there are a couple of bargain bin options that could improve this team in areas of need.

Trade Candidate: Joey Gallo

Position: Designated Hitter

For everyone who wants Pete Alonso in a deal, this is the ultimate “we have Pete Alonso at home” trade. His stat line is down considerably across the board but in a recent article on the Athletic (subscription required), Eno Sarris pointed to a handful of his advanced metrics that show that he’s been profoundly unlucky as his hard-hit rate and his barrel percentage are both higher at this point of the season than Alonso’s. 

The Washington Nationals are going to be incentivized to move Gallo to clear money and open a spot for their highly-touted prospects so this deal would likely come in significantly cheaper than when the Cubs traded their 14th and 16th ranked prospects to them in 2023 for Jeimer Candelario. Someone like 25th ranked, Triple-A pitcher Kohl Franklin, could get this deal done. 

Trade Candidate: Eugenio Suarez

Position: 3B

This deal wouldn’t be dissimilar to the Gallo one in the sense that the Arizona Diamondbacks would be incentivized to move the veteran to clear space for their younger (and cheaper) replacement. Suarez has been mentioned recently in trade discussions due mostly to his truly terrible May at the plate where his stat-line looked very similar to what the Cubs put up in just about every at-bat.

Perhaps getting Suarez back to the NL Central and allowing him to play a couple of games against his former team in Cincinnati could reignite his bat and it wouldn’t cost the Cubs much in terms of prospect capital or cash considering Suarez is only under contract through this season with a team option for next season. 

Neither of these guys are good enough at this stage of their career to turn around the Cubs’ fortunes, but they do have power that this lineup is sorely missing and perhaps they just need to find themselves in a competitive division fighting for a playoff spot on a team that players want to play for to turn their respective seasons back around.