The Chicago Cubs have some big decisions to make ahead of the MLB trade deadline at the end of July.
Although things are going well so far, with a .500 winning percentage, Chicago is not trending in the right direction.
ESPN insider Jeff Passan suggested Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is headed for “unloaded status” if the team continues to set back in June and July.
The season started well for Chicago, with an 18-12 record through May, a phenomenal starting pitching staff and at least a decent offense.
Since then, the Cubs have compiled a 13-19 record and are slipping away from the safety they once held in the race for a wild-card spot.
One of the main reasons for the sudden decline has been poor offensive performance.
Since May 1, Chicago ranks in the bottom five in wOBA, points scored and OPS, and in the bottom 10 in nearly every other metric.
If they can’t turn things around immediately and put themselves in a better position for the playoffs, it would make sense to save some money and acquire whatever they can for soon-to-be free agents.
Passan named Ian Happ, Jameson Taillon, Hector Neris and Mark Leiter Jr. as players to watch in future trade talks.
Happ has been with the Cubs since 2017 and just signed a new contract that keeps him under contract through 2026. But with his below-average performance this season, the Cubs may be willing to opt out of his contract and take a big hit on what they end up getting from him in return.
So far, he’s batting .232/.335/394. The biggest outlier is his slugging percentage: He’s never batted below .400 in a season, and hasn’t sunk below .431 since 2018.
It might not make much sense to trade him at this point, but as a normally solid switch-hitter, a team might be willing to pay a high price for him.
Taillon’s strong start to the season would make him a high-priced selloff case, but like Happ, he remains on an $18 million salary through 2026, which could be an obstacle to a return.
Still, his ERA so far this year is a career-best 2.84, and if the Cubs aren’t going to continue him as their top starter and are willing to cut ties with him financially, it might make sense to acquire something for him.
Neris makes the most sense to trade as he’s a soon-to-be free agent — he has a 2.86 ERA and some saves as a relief pitcher — and a stronger championship contender would likely be interested in him.
All of this may become meaningless if the team starts winning games at a consistent pace again — the talent is there, they just need to find the consistency again.
