Chicago Cubs: 3 trades to help bolster bullpen

The Chicago Cubs clearly need to make a move in order to address the bullpen.

So far, the Chicago Cubs have been arguably the best team in baseball. Over the first 20 percent of the season, the Cubs sit atop the Majors in terms of overall record. In his first season as manager, David Ross has made the best of what this year has given him.

Ross and the Cubs have prided themselves on ensuring the safety protocols are met with complete certainty, and all the while, it has brought them closer together. And that’s just it: They are winning together.

The starting pitching rotation is arguably the best in baseball right now, finding themselves in the top three of every major category: Wins, ERA, strikeout vs. walk and batting average.

The Cubs have also continued to hit the ball out of the park, homering in all except for one game thus far. Chicago is scoring enough runs to get the job done while the starting pitching has been stellar.

One particular caveat to their season, though, has been the fact that the bullpen is as inconsistent as we thought they would be. To be fair, they did go through a nice 8-inning stretch where they allowed zero runs scored.

Overall, though, the bullpen has been the one thing fans are fearful of in each game. It seems they have followed a pattern in the majority of their games thus far: Earn a lead while the starting pitcher holds the opposition in check, enter the later innings, and then watch the bullpen nearly give the game away in the ninth inning.

Craig Kimbrel has been one of the main culprits, but Kyle Ryan has been nearly just as bad on some occasions. The Cubs have a couple of strong relievers who have helped tremendously, like Jeremy Jeffress and Rowan Wick. But, they need help.

With a trade deadline that could look much different this year, we examine a few pitchers the Cubs could go after to help fill the void in the bullpen.