The Chicago Cubs don't have to make a trade to justify getting rid of this player

The Chicago Cubs have been getting abysmal production from their bench players in 2025, and something needs to be done to address this issue.

The way I see it, there are two things the Cubs' front office can do. The obvious one is to acquire a new bat before Thursday's trade deadline. The main candidate thrown around is Arizona's Eugenio Suarez, who will almost certainly be on the move after the Snakes traded Josh Naylor last Thursday. If the Cubs were able to snag Suarez, he would slot into the starting third base role for the rest of the season and Matt Shaw could be relegated to the bench.

Even without an addition, the Cubs have better internal options

If the trade deadline doesn't bring a new bat into the fold, then the Cubs need to part ways with either Vidal Brujan or Jon Berti, because both men are a liability at the plate. The team keeps giving Brujan chances when Matt Shaw is not in the lineup, despite him having a remarkably bad wRC+ of 17 (average is 100). Brujan is also average, at best, in the field, making it a wonder why he is even still on the team.

One option the Cubs can test out is Ben Cowles, who has primarily played shortstop for the Iowa Cubs this year. Cowles, 25, can play third, second and even the outfield in a pinch. Oh, and he's already on the 40-man roster so the Cubs don't even have to make room for him, even though they should boot Brujan off the roster as soon as possible.

Cowles is admittedly not a great hitter, but he at least has seven home runs and a slightly better 72 wRC+. That's much better than what the Cubs are getting from Brujan. Even it Cowles doesn't work out, we've seen more than enough from Brujan to know that he cannot stick around if the Cubs are serious about competing for a postseason spot.

I guess this boils down to the Cubs needing to trade for a bench upgrade in some form. If Suarez is unobtainable, perhaps a guy like Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals would suffice. Rosario can play virtually every spot on the diamond, he's slashing a respectable .270/.310/.426 this year, and the Nationals have reportedly made him available.