Chicago Cubs: 3 trade deadline targets to bolster the bullpen
Seth Lugo, RHP, New York Mets
The Mets have been nothing short of a train wreck for most of the 2019 season. Sitting 13.5 games back in the NL East and 7 games back of an NL Wild Card spot, it’s time for this team to throw in the towel. Fortunately enough, the Mets have several pieces that they will be able to deal if they are actually able to admit defeat on this season.
Whether it be one of their big name starters like Noah Syndergaard, their struggling closer Edwin Diaz, or one of several mid-tier positional players, their front office will have several players to shop around and potentially collect a nice package of prospects.
An underrated reliever in the Mets bullpen that the Cubs should be eyeing is Seth Lugo. Lugo is 29 years old and has posted average to above average performances in both 2017 and 2018 for the Mets. In 2019 over 43 IP, he has posted a career high K% (30.8%) while just walking 7.1% of the batters he has faced (2019 league average = 8.5%).
Lugo has been a model of consistency for the Mets since 2017 and has taken on spot start opportunities in both seasons. The Cubs could desperately use an effective long man considering the struggles of Montgomery and Chatwood which Lugo could provide.
The valuable part of acquiring Lugo would be his contractual control. He is under control for the remainder of this season, as well as the next three seasons as arbitration years. This may be a roadblock in acquiring Lugo since the Mets could retain him at a minimal cost. However, if they truly decide to retool their roster, they would be smart to sell high on Lugo, despite the contractual favorability.
The Cubs would be smart to replace one of Montgomery or Chatwood in the bullpen with someone like Lugo that can give you reliable length and the occasional spot start. Lugo has been more effective than both of these relievers and would be an incremental upgrade immediately. Even if this acquisition costed slightly more prospect wise than desired, I believe this upgrade would be silently one of the best areas to upgrade in the bullpen.