Should The Chicago Cubs Trade For A Third Baseman?

SportsMoneyShould The Chicago Cubs Trade For A Third Baseman

ByJared Wyllys, Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights

I write baseball with a focus on the Cubs and White Sox

All rights reserved As the trade deadline apaches, many organizations are beginning to line up their plans for how to shore up their teams for August, September, and (hopefully) October

This can mean looking at their strengths and weaknesses in the short term and making moves to address those while also considering the long-term health of the ball

For example, is it wise to trade for a position player that might block a spect you see as a potential future cornerstone

Cubs team president Jed Hoyer is weighing that question as we speak

The Cubs are three games above the Brewers and 4. 5 ahead of the Cardinals with exactly 81 games played

But on the other, Hoyer has a few young players in his system that might be a part of the Cubs’ chances at future contention

Third baseman Matt Shaw, for example

By spring training of this year, Shaw was already lined up to be the Cubs’ opening day third baseman

Since then, however, Shaw has struggled at the plate

Enough so that he was optioned to Triple-A for a month this spring

He’s been back with the Cubs for close to a month and a half now, and Shaw has continued to do poorly on offense

Hoyer has been down this road already; last July he made a deal with the Rays for third baseman Isaac Paredes, but he is in Houston now, a part of the swap for Kyle Tucker

If Hoyer is able to convince Tucker to stick around with a contract extension, that will help determine if dealing Paredes was worth it, but it’s hard not to think that keeping him would helped with Hoyer’s Matt Shaw blem

That pressure might lead to him taking a big swing at this year’s trade deadline

He is already expected to be active for starting pitching

Hoyer is reportedly keeping a close eye on three different pitchers, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale: “They are scouring the market for a starter, keeping a close eye on Sandy Alcantara (2 ½ years remaining on his 5-year, $56 million contract), Mitch Keller (3 ½ years remaining on his 5-year, $70 million deal) and Luis Severino of the Athletics (2 ½ years remaining on his 3-year, $67 million contract). ” Starting pitching will ly be the top priority for the Cubs, with Justin Steele out until sometime in 2026 and Shota Imanaga just having returned to the mound after almost two months on the injured list with a hamstring strain

There’s also the reality of Ben Brown’s struggles, which seem to indicate that he is not quite ready to be a full-time starter, at least not for a contending team

But because of Shaw’s inability to match up with major league pitching thus far, Hoyer might have to prioritize the short-term needs of his ball and trade for a third baseman who can help the Cubs secure a division title and then make a deep run in the postseason

Perhaps the most sought-after third baseman on the trade market will be the Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suarez

Since July 7 of last year, he has driven in more runs than Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge

He will ly cost a lot, spect-wise, so depending on how badly Hoyer wants to leverage the Cubs’ future for the sake of winning this year, he might be on the phone with Arizona’s front office

Otherwise, there are other options at third base who won’t cost Hoyer and the Cubs quite as much

He could boost the Cubs offense at third base significantly without costing as much in a trade

Beyond those two players, the options get rather thin and have a greater number of question marks, and eventually Hoyer would be weighing whether he is truly getting an upgrade at third base

Shaw might still turn things around at the plate, and in the meantime, he is viding excellent defense at the position

In the next few weeks, Hoyer will almost certainly be prioritizing his pitching staff

That is ly the greatest area of need, and compared to a light-hitting third baseman, a rotation and bullpen lacking enough out-getters will sink a team’s playoff dreams much more quickly

But given that Hoyer has just a few more months to ve he is the right man to stay at the helm of the Cubs organization, there is a good chance he is one of the more aggressive front offices at this deadline, even if that means trading for a third baseman to fill Matt Shaw’s spot for the next few months

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