{"id":56528,"date":"2025-05-21T07:34:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56528"},"modified":"2025-05-21T07:34:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:34:31","slug":"cubs-urged-to-trade-for-all-star-closer-for-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56528","title":{"rendered":"Cubs Urged to Trade for All-Star Closer for Playoff Push"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pete-fairbanks-e1747762095838.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pete-fairbanks-e1747762095838.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pete-fairbanks-e1747762095838.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pete-fairbanks-e1747762095838.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cubs Urged to Trade for All-Star Closer for Playoff Push\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Pete Fairbanks pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Chicago Cubs will certainly be buyers at this year\u2019s trade deadline. Chicago has featured one of the best offenses in the Majors this season and has ridden their bats to a 28-20 record. They currently sit in first place in a sneaky good National League Central Division.<\/p>\n<p>But the Cubs have a few major weaknesses that could jeopardize their season. The Cubs, like many contending teams, may need to use the trade market in hopes of shoring up those weaknesses for a playoff push.<\/p>\n<p>And according to Bleacher Report\u2019s Tim Kelly, they need to do exactly that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey lost Justin Steele for the season to Tommy John surgery, and Shota Imanaga (hamstring) is on the injured list as well,\u201d said Kelly.\u00a0 \u201cClearly, another front-line starter is a need for the Cubs. The same can be said for closer, as both Ryan Pressly and Porter Hodge have struggled so far this season. Entering the season, those were the top two projected relievers in Craig Counsell\u2019s bullpen. There\u2019s a lot of positivity surrounding the Cubs, and rightfully so. But they need to improve their pitching staff to have a chance to defeat the heavyweights from the NL West and East in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A questionable rotation got worse<\/h2>\n<p>The Cubs\u2019 rotation wasn\u2019t considered a strong suit heading into the season. But injuries to their top two starters have only magnified that need. While Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, and Jameson Taillon have filled in nicely, they are hardly a playoff-caliber trio.<\/p>\n<p>Jed Hoyer needs to answer the question regarding trading for a front-line starter: who, not if. Chicago needs to decide if it wants to trade for a \u201crental\u201d or pony up a bigger package for an arm with more control long term. While trading for a rental would limit the outgoing prospect capital, the options are scarce.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the potential arms, such as Dylan Cease, Michael King, Zac Gallen, and Framber Valdez, play on contending teams and are unlikely to be dealt.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bullpen also needs help<\/h2>\n<p>Trading for a frontline rotation arm is expensive and complicated. But acquiring a few solid bullpen arms should not be as difficult. Not only are they more common, but they cost much less to acquire. It\u2019s a near certainty that the Cubs will make a move for at least one bullpen arm. They have to justify their Kyle Tucker move. With Tucker only under contract for this season, the time is now.<\/p>\n<p>While some arms will provide depth, others can change the game.\u00a0A name to keep an eye on is Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays. Since 2022, the 31-year-old has tossed 132.2 innings and registered a 2.65 ERA. His production would be a huge boost to the Cubs. A playoff team that desperately needs help in the back end of the bullpen.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fca86cdedfbbd92a5c1b04992d634238\">\n<div>\n<article>Pete Fairbanks, K\u2019ing the Side in the 9th<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fairbanks isn\u2019t an unrestricted free agent until 2027, and the Cubs could work with the Rays to get a deal done. Tampa Bay is notorious for trading away players before their payday to acquire cost-controlled young talent. The Cubs have a great farm system, and the Rays may be inclined to be sellers with their 21-26 record this season.<\/p>\n<p>In my opinion, Jed Hoyer needs to make him a top target for the Cubs at this deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Michael DeFrancisco Michael DeFrancisco is a writer and contributor covering MLB for Heavy Sports. He started working at Heavy in 2025 and has experince covering Chicago Sports. More about Michael DeFrancisco<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Cubs News<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret that the Chicago Cubs have a pitching problem on their hands. Could Chicago look to the MLB Trade Deadline to solve their woes?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":56529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cubs Urged to Trade for All-Star Closer for Playoff Push - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs Urged to Trade for All-Star Closer for Playoff Push - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#039;s no secret that the Chicago Cubs have a pitching problem on their hands. 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