Chicago Cubs Are Shopping For Starting Pitching — But For Who?
By now, many Chicago Cubs fans have endured Chris Sale trade rumors, Cole Hamels notions, and even remain skeptical that David Price will find his way into a Cubs uniform. But as was discussed last week, Chicago execs have three key moves they must make — now. One of those involves filling the shoes of Tsuyoshi Wada and perhaps the inconsistent arm of Kyle Hendricks. With CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine throwing some pretty interesting names out there, two resonate as potential long-term compliments to Arrieta, Lester, and the revived Hammel: Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir.
With Kazmir, 31, the Chicago Cubs get an inning eater with some life left in his arm. He’s averaging 95.3 pitches this year, has allowed only seven souvenirs and would bring a WHIP of 1.20 to a Chicago staff that averages roughly that figure already. The fact he’s appeared in eight postseason games could add extra leadership to the clubhouse, but more importantly, he’s only allowed 32 free passes this season which would immediately improve the Chicago Cubs’ rotation. His $13 million salary isn’t too outlandish, and many speculate he wouldn’t command the return Cole Hamels would.
Getting Cueto, 29, gives the Cubs staff several years of consistent NL pitching before production declines. He brings a career 3.25 ERA and 1.17 career WHIP to a team he’s dominated over the years, offers three playoff games’ worth of experience and would, too, command a much lower trade chip than Hamels. With Cincinnati slowly deteriorating, it would be judicious for their execs to sell now. Teams like the Royals are approaching Cueto with trepidation due to elbow issues, according to Cincinnati.com. If you recall, Cueto has struggled over the past five years to string together a full season of health.
Other pitchers that may come available of interest include Mike Leake, Kyle Lohse, and 99 percent of Chicago White Sox’s staff, although Chicago Cubs fans would much rather avoid Shark and John Danks due to inconsistencies abound. No, Chris Sale won’t be made available — sorry, Cubs fans.
Just around the corner stands the trade deadline, and with several teams boasting salary flexibility, Chicago will be heavily contested for each arm they seek. However, as Jon Lester has ties to Chicago Cubs execs and wanted to be involved with Chicago’s Northside revival, many pitchers will be hard pressed to shun offers to join some of MLB’s most feared rookies.
See what other key moves Chicago Cubs execs must quickly make to assure any hope of postseason contention stays alive.
