Chicago Cubs: Why landing a lockdown middle reliever is a must

We are now 11 days past the All-Star break. The Chicago Cubs are in a strong position to break away from the NL Central, but they certainly have their flaws.

Evaluating this past weekend against St. Louis

After a crazy weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs taught us a few things. The bats stayed somewhat hot, and the starting pitching continued to look excellent.

However, there were certainly some negatives that we saw this weekend. It’s completely justified to say that the Cubs do not have a quality bullpen, outside of closer Wade Davis.

The problem with having an elite closer in Davis is that you can’t use him if you don’t get to at least the late innings, let alone if you have a lead. This has been the story for the Cubs for the majority of the 2017 season.

News broke out this past Sunday via ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Cubs are still active in the trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline.

One can only hope that the Cubs are looking to acquire help in the bullpen. After Friday’s collapse in the eighth inning and the near collapse against Baltimore after being up 8-0, it’s clear that the Cubs need a lockdown reliever.

Unfortunately, there are no Andrew Miller’s looming at this year’s deadline, but there are names that the Cubs could target.

No contender is going to send a star reliever to Chicago, so the Cubs need to look for a strong reliever on a bad team.

Door No.1

While it may tough to land this reliever given the team he plays for, the best option available for the Cubs is Reds reliever, Raisel Iglesias. Theo Epstein has already proven this season that it does not matter what team the player is on, he can go out and make a deal.

Iglesias has been one of the few bright spots for Cincinnati this season. He has solidified himself as the closer but is capable of going out in the middle innings. He has a fantastic ERA of 1.46, and an outstanding WHIP of 0.93.  There are no Cub relievers with a WHIP below one.

Despite their strong start to the season, the Reds have leveled out and it’s fair to say that they remain in rebuild mode. So if the Cubs were to go out and try to land Iglesias, it would almost certainly be for prospects.

Door No.2

A name that recently popped up in trade discussions is Miami Marlins closer, AJ Ramos. Ramos fits that the criteria of being a strong reliever on a mediocre or bad team.

Ramos is doing very well for the Marlins as their closer this season. He has converted 19 out of 21 save opportunities.

More from Chicago Cubs

• Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason
• Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
• The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
• Chicago Cubs Rumors: latest on Bellinger, Chapman, and Hoskins
• National insider takes Chicago Cubs out of Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes

Ramos is one of the better closers in the National League. He appeared in the 2016 All-Star Game and currently ranks No.7 in the NL in saves.

Ramos is three years older than Iglesias, but that does not mean that the Marlins wouldn’t have a similar asking price. Miami isn’t in as bad of a position as the Reds, but they aren’t going anywhere this season.

If the Cubs could dump a position player to South Florida, this trade could certainly come into fruition. However, the (literally) million dollar question is do the Cubs continue to push out their talent in order to land these players at the deadline.

There never is a right or wrong answer when sending prospects for a star. If the star helps you win a championship, you feel as if you made the right move. If the prospects and the star both perform well, you made a good trade.

Why this to happen

After Monday’s loss to the Chicago White Sox, it has become very clear that this team is weak in the bullpen.

In their first game against the Orioles, the Cubs bullpen nearly blew an eight run lead. They allowed the Orioles back into a game that the Cubs were dominating.

Last Friday, the Chicago Cubs pen allowed the Cardinals to come back in the eighth inning. St. Louis scored nine runs that inning after being down 3-2.

It can always be an interesting story when teams acquire closers and move them down to lower innings. However, the Cubs find themselves in an atypical situation.

The Cubs simply don’t have that go to guy in the middle innings. If they want to secure the NL Central and return to the playoffs, they can’t have a bullpen that blows a game three times in less than ten days.

Next: Logical trade ideas for the Cubs at the deadline

However, the starting pitching has finally started to find its stride, and the offense has certainly shown signs of life as well. The Chicago Cubs have two-thirds of the picture right, but the other third must be addressed soon.

These next few months are going to be a rodeo for Cub fans. However, it’s not like this will be their first.