Chicago Cubs Trade Targets: Cole Hamels and Gerardo Parra Are Best

The MLB trade deadline is three weeks away. Throughout the season, many people envision Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs to be busy trying to improve the roster. Two of those deals need to involve Cole Hamels and Gerardo Parra, two players that can turn the Cubs to yearly contenders.

Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs

In a dream scenario for Chicago Cubs fans, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer will engineer two blockbuster trades that land the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels and Milwaukee Brewers’ Gerardo Parra on the North Side for the second half of the season, and hopefully the postseason.

As the Chicago Cubs and the rest of major league baseball head into the All-Star Break, the North Siders should be focused on adding two key elements to their team if they’re serious about contending this season.

With Tsuyoshi Wada on the disabled list and the staff’s most consistent performer Jason Hammel leaving Wednesday’s start against the St. Louis Cardinals early, it’s apparent the Cubs need another legitimate starter for depth.

Hammel’s injury looks minor, although the details of the MRI he had on Thursday haven’t been made public, you can’t help but wonder what the Cubs would do if he, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta or Kyle Hendricks were to go down for an extended period.

The fifth starter has already been a bit of a mess for the Cubs. Imagine what things would be like if the rotation suddenly only had three dependable guys.

With a young, promising, but inconsistent set of position players, the Cubs have a chance to reach the postseason and make some noise, but they just might have to ride their rotation as far as it will take them. As a team, the Cubs are 27th in hitting, 23rd in runs scored and 17th in home runs.

Because of the dynamics of their roster, the Cubs would be best served going for the gusto and making a move to land the most sensible ace on the market. The Cincinnati Reds are almost certainly going to move Johnny Cueto, but he’s a free agent at the end of the season, and the Cubs could just be renting his services.

That’s not the type of player you want to part with precious minor-league resources to obtain. Hamels is signed through the 2019 season and he has a team option for his hefty $22.5 million annual salary. That’s the type of player the Cubs should be targeting. Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi agrees with this concept. He writes:

"The Cubs would prefer to trade for a starting pitcher whom they would control beyond this year, because they lack major-league-ready starters in the upper levels of their system. If they’re going to play on a big name, Cole Hamels (signed to a long-term contract) makes more sense than Johnny Cueto (pending free agent)."

Hamels is just 31 years old and hasn’t shown signs of wear and tear up to this point. He’s pitched more than 200 innings in each of the last five seasons and is on pace to eclipse that mark again this year. Prying Hamels away from the Phillies would likely require the Cubs to part ways with Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and at least one more prospect.

As long as the players sent in this potential deal aren’t named Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber or Kris Bryant, the Cubs would be wise to make it happen. While I still believe Baez will be a hitter and run producer in the majors, adding a player like Hamels that the team would have under contract for the next four seasons is too good to pass up.

There’s only a few spots where the Cubs can tinker with their lineup, but centerfield is one of those positions. Dexter Fowler has had his moments, but most of them have come against left-handed pitching. While seven of his eight home runs have come against right-handed pitching, he’s only hitting .211 with an on-base percentage of .291 against them.

The Cubs aren’t paying Fowler to hit for power. They need an on-base guy at the top of the lineup, and Fowler has only been that guy against lefties. He’s hitting a paltry .327 with a .397 on-base percentage against southpaws which is much more inline with what the Cubs need from him.

It would be nice to have Fowler pick up the pace, but the truth is, he may not. For a much lower asking price than Hamels is figured to require, the Cubs could make a run at the left-handed hitting and slick fielding Parra.

Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

The Brewers aren’t going anywhere, but Parra has been having an awesome season at the plate in addition to his usual stellar play in the field. Morosi calls the two-time Gold Glover a “player to watch” as it pertains to the potential Chicago Cubs trade targets. The 28-year-old Venezuelan is hitting .309 with eighth home runs and 26 RBI this season.

Most importantly, he’s hitting .314 with seven homers against right-handed pitching. He and Fowler could make for a formidable platoon squad in center field—or Parra might wind up taking the job altogether. In any case, the Cubs must aggressively chase postseason success this year, while not sacrificing too big of a chunk of the future.

Acquiring Hamels and Parra would allow them to do just that.

Next: Dexter Fowler Needs A Turnaround For Chicago Cubs Offense To Click

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