Latest Philadelphia Phillies injury is horrible news for the Chicago Cubs

With MLB Trade Rumors beginning to persist, the latest injury for the Philadelphia Phillies may prompt them to go after one of the Chicago Cubs' main trade targets, catcher Elias Diaz. J.T. Realmuto had surgery on a torn meniscus and will miss approximately one month. As a cornerstone of the Phillies franchise, who sit in first place in the NL East, it would not be surprising for the team to make a move in Realmuto's absence to keep their foot on the gas.

The Cubs have been actively connected to Diaz, though real traction has yet to come. Jed Hoyer may lose his chance if he doesn't act soon, limiting the team's ability to upgrade the catcher position this season. The upgrade must come from outside the organization, as Miguel Amaya and Yan Gomes need help. Not taking the sooner rather than later approach or being aggressive to fix the holes in the roster is only making the Cubs fall further behind.

The Cubs may have competition in the catching market.

Same with not making trades for the bullpen, this team is at a standstill until it is replenished with the weapons it needs to compete in the NL Central. There is zero sense in waiting until the MLB trade deadline to get into a bidding war with multiple teams looking for upgrades, mainly when Jed Hoyer hasn't traded any of his top 100 prospects in an effort to supplement the major league team since the 2021 sell-off. By his standards, the thought that he will overpay for somebody is not a basket in which we should put our eggs.

Just recently, the New York Mets DFAed Tomas Nido, so that's also an option for the Phillies if they choose not to utilize the trade market with Colorado, considering the injury isn't severe enough for Realmuto to miss substantial time. However, Nido was DFAed for a reason, so it will be interesting to see if Philly picks him up to DFA him when Realmuto is back.

Sadly, Nido's batting average is higher than both Amaya and Gomes. In a disturbing way, picking up Nido is almost an upgrade, considering he also has a much higher Catcher caught stealing above-average rate than both Cubs backstops, an area where Amaya massively struggles. Hoyer needs to get aggressive before this season begins to slip away and before they're too far behind at the deadline to even think about buying.

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