3 Early Cubs Trade Deadline Targets

The Chicago Cubs have begun the 2024 season well with a 21-14 record through five weeks of baseball. The Cubs’ record currently has them tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the division. While this start to the season has been good for the Cubs, the team has struggled in some areas on the field.

Recently, the Cubs’ hitters have been inconsistent, having one good game and then one bad game. The Cubs’ plate struggles are due to the fact that they are missing two of their best hitters, Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger. Once those players return to the lineup the Cubs hitting should be back to normal.

The issue that has plagued the Cubs since the start of this season has been their bullpen. The Cubs bullpen has an accumulative ERA of 4.81 so far this season. The horrendous ERA for the Cubs bullpen does not only fall on the middle relievers but also on the closing pitcher Adbert Alzolay. Alzolay has blown five saves this season and has an ERA of 5.54. The Cubs clearly need to add some arms to their pen via trades if they want to make a playoff push. With that being said, here are three players the Cubs might be able to add at or before the trade deadline.

1. Logan Allen, RP- Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2023 World Series runner-up Arizona Diamondbacks have not started off the 2024 season too hot. Currently, they have a 15-20 record, which puts them in third place in the NL West. This rough start for the Diamondbacks is thanks to their starting rotation which only has one pitcher with an ERA below 3.00. If the Diamondbacks starting pitching can’t figure out their issues soon, the team might be sellers at the trade deadline.

If the Diamondbacks decide their best option is to trade away players at the deadline, one player the Cubs should be interested in is relief pitcher Logan Allen. Allen has begun the season strong with a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings pitched with three walks and six strikeouts. This is the best Allen has looked in his career, so adding him to a struggling bullpen would definitely provide a spark.

2. Jason Adam, RP- Tampa Bay Rays

Five weeks into the MLB season, the Tampa Bay Rays are one game below .500 at 18-18. Typically, having a .500 record is neither good nor bad. However, in the Rays case, the AL East is one of the more competitive divisions in the majors, so a 17-18 record puts them in fourth place. While there’s plenty of time for the Rays to gain ground in the division, there’s a real possibility they stay between 3rd and 5th place. If they end up there at the deadline, they could very well trade some veteran players.

One veteran who could be on the chopping block is 32-year-old relief pitcher Jason Adam. If the Cubs traded for Adam, it wouldn’t be his first time with the organization. Adam was a reliever for the Cubs during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In 2020, Adam had a 3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched with 8 walks and 21 strikeouts. In 2021, Adam earned himself a 5.91 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched with 6 walks and 19 strikeouts. The Cubs decided to move on from Adam after two rough seasons.

After leaving Chicago, Adam spent the last two seasons in Tampa Bay, dominating his competition, earning a sub-3.00 ERA in both 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, Adam pitched 50+ innings, which is a big increase from what he pitched in his first stint with the Cubs. A return to the friendly confines would allow Adam to give fans better performances to remember him by.

3. Yimi Garcia, RP- Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have begun the season three games below .500 with a record of 16-19. Usually, that record this early in this season isn’t too bad, but like the Rays, the Blue Jays are in the AL East. So, being three games below .500 and 7.5 games out of first place in May might already have the Blue Jays thinking of being sellers at the trade deadline.

One player who could want to be moved is 32-year-old relief pitcher Yimi Garcia. Garcia joined the Blue Jays in 2022 and has been a below-average reliever. In 2022, Garcia earned a 3.10 ERA in 61 innings pitched with 16 walks and 58 strikeouts. He followed that up by earning a 4.09 ERA in 66 innings pitched with 15 walks and 79 strikeouts. While his strikeout-to-walk rate was high in 2022 and 2023, having higher ERAs makes those campaigns not great.

This year, Garcia has started out with a .68 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched with 3 walks and 16 strikeouts. While this is certainly a great start to the season, Garcia has never had an ERA lower than 3.00 in a season where he has pitched more than 20 innings. Even with this knowledge, the Cubs should try to trade for Garcia because if he is able to keep up the pace he is at now, he may have the best season of his career. If Garcia is able to have the best season of his career, he would be a big boost to this Cubs bullpen.

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This article was originally published on dawindycity.com as 3 Early Cubs Trade Deadline Targets.