Cubs Showing Interest in Basically Everyone as They Try to Add Multiple Pitchers
Update: As first reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Rays have acquired Freddy Peralta.
Even with a number of pitchers expected back from the IL in the near future, the Cubs would reportedly like to add three arms at the deadline. That comes from Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, though they were not certain whether the goal would be two starters and a reliever or the other way around. The market should start to pick up pace with Tarik Skubal already off the board, making the race for that broad second tier more than a little crowded.
Jed Hoyer probably won’t get an hour of uninterrupted sleep until after the deadline because the Cubs figure to be having conversations on a number of different pitchers. Based on a variety of different reports, they’ve been linked to pretty much every available arm you’ve ever heard of. The Freddy Peralta stuff has been going on for a while, and that makes sense as a potential change-of-scenery bump if the Mets come off their desire for a top-100 prospect.
We’ve also heard some rumblings about interest in Emerson Hancock, who was named along with Robbie Ray and Clay Holmes by Bob Nightengale as players in whom the Cubs have interest. With the Tigers open for business, Casey Mize will be coveted due to what should be a much lower prospect cost. The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen mentioned the Cubs as possible suitors for Mize, who was scratched from his last start and has seen his fastball velocity dip of late. He’s also hit the IL twice, which some will say makes him a perfect Hoyer target.
Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic echoed the interest in Holmes and Peralta, then they looked at Kevin Gausman‘s fit as sort of a latter-day Justin Verlander. As you recall, Verlander’s numbers were not all that great with Detroit when the Cubs had a chance to acquire him at the deadline in 2017. Hoyer has openly discussed his regret over not pulling the trigger on that one.
We’re also seeing how David Peterson has excelled after coming over from the Mets, which lends credence to the idea that better performance could be expected from Gausman, Peralta, and others. Holmes is a groundball machine who could be a monster pitching in front of the Cubs’ defense, and the Mets are looking to unload expiring contracts.
Then you’ve got Reid Detmers and José Soriano of the Angels, two names that have previously been linked to the Cubs. I don’t find either of those pitchers particularly sexy, but depth is important. That applies to the bullpen as well, where Sharma and Mooney mention Adrian Morejon, Luke Weaver, and Jeff Hoffman as needle-moving relievers.
By my unofficial count, we just hit on 11 potential targets that could be added by Monday evening. Even seeking value will have the Cubs parting with some significant in-house talent, but it’ll be worthwhile if they end up with a stronger finish than last season. All we know for sure is that a lot of folks will be bitching about it one way or the other.
