Five remaining trade targets for the Chicago Cubs
1. Kevin Gausman, SP, Baltimore Orioles
Even after adding Jose Quintana to the mix, I could still see the Cubs trading for another starting pitcher. John Lackey has been downright awful this season and both him and Jake Arrieta are free agents at the end of the year. If nothing else, the Cubs would be wise to look into some buy-low controllable starting pitching.
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Daniel Norris, who we talked about earlier, makes a lot of sense, as does Baltimore Orioles starter Kevin Gausman. The Cubs tagged Gausman with eight runs in only three innings in their first game back from the break last Friday. That was just the latest bad start in an awful season for Gausman.
The Orioles starter has an ugly 6.39 ERA (5.13 FIP) in 20 starts this season. He has given up a ton of hard contact, is not striking anybody out (18.8% strikeout rate, according to FanGraphs) and is walking too many batters (9.4% walk rate).
Gausman has been awful this season. There is no denying that. However, he has had some major league success in the past, most notably a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts with Baltimore last season. This guy is a talented pitcher who was once of the best pitching prospects in baseball. I refuse to believe that his talent is just magically gone.
This is probably just a mechanical issue that a fresh set of eyes could adjust. I would love to see the Cubs buy low on Gausman and see if pitching coach Chris Bosio can fix him. Bosio did wonders on Jake Arrieta. Could it happen again?
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If a change of scenery is all that is needed, Gausman could be a big contributor for the Chicago Cubs down the stretch. On top of that, he is only 26 years old and is under team control for the next three seasons. The Cubs should look to fleece the Orioles again, this time taking Kevin Gausman off of their hands.