This Cubs player is facing his last chance with the team ahead of the trade deadline

The second half is underway and the Chicago Cubs reportedly have countless irons in the fire as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer looks to add to his team ahead of the trade deadline later this month.

There are some clear-cut expendable pieces on the 26-man, namely on the bench where Vidal Brujan, Justin Turner and Jon Berti have offered virtually no contributions offensively, but finding fat to trim from the pitching staff is easier said than done given the number of positive surprises we've seen in that group this season.

While he may not be with the big-league team currently, left-hander Jordan Wicks is certainly a name to keep an eye on, though. He makes sense as a trade chip as Chicago looks to add multiple arms to the rotation and seek reinforcements both in the pen and on the bench.

Time running out for Jordan Wicks to make his mark with the Cubs

The results at the big-league level just hasn't been there for the former Kansas State standout. After being selected with the 21st overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, he made his debut with the Cubs a little over two years later, making seven starts and working to a 4.41 ERA down the stretch that year.

But since then, he's bounced between Iowa and Chicago, spending much of the last two seasons either sidelined by injury or at Triple-A. He's really struggled in the bigs, though, making 10 starts and five relief appearances since the start of the 2024 campaign, allowing 74 hits in just 52 1/3 innings of work, pitching to a 4.98 FIP and 6.13 ERA.

Thinking through a hypothetical trade with a team like the Arizona Diamondbacks, it stands to reason they'll want a young arm coming back in any package that brings a Merrill Kelly or Zac Gallen to Chicago - and Wicks looks like a perfect change-of-scenery candidate, and one that comes with years of team control that can be plugged into the rotation quickly.

Wicks was supposed to be the plug-and-play, near-ready arm coming out of the draft four years ago, but that's not how things have progressed. With the Cubs focused on pieces that not only help the team during the stretch run this summer, but in the years to come, it's hard to see a path for Wicks to force his way back into the team's long-term plans. He could end up bringing back more value in a trade than he has toeing the rubber for the North Siders as a big leaguer.