Cubs Trade Rumor Roundup: Best Fit for Gore, Actively Monitoring Clase, Thoughts on Alcántara & Cabrera

Between allowing 20 runs in two losses to the Royals and seeing Matt Shaw homer in each of those defeats to give him three dingers in his last five games, the Cubs’ deadline focus appears to be narrowing. That could also be a matter of the third base market seeing a very steep dropoff after Eugenio Suarez, with Ryan McMahon looking like Option B. We’re talking 20 homers and 60 points of wRC+ between them, so it’s not even comparable.

And that’s assuming the Diamondbacks opt to move their third baseman at all, which will create a feeding frenzy that includes the Yankees and even the Reds, among other teams. Even with the cost being generally pretty low for rental bats, multiple bidders could push the cost beyond what Jed Hoyer is looking to spend. Then again, being all-in means the Cubs should get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Regardless, their priority has to be adding arms for the playoff push. A bullpen game on Monday saw Ben Brown pummeled as the bulk man behind Ryan Brasier, then Wednesday’s game featured Colin Rea getting tagged for six runs. As admirable a job as he’s done filling in for Justin Steele, Rea isn’t a guy you want taking the bump in a postseason game.

If Hoyer is truly willing to push his chips to the middle of the table, there would be no bigger target than Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore. The 26-year-old is earning $2.89 million in his first year of arbitration and still has two years of club control remaining, making him an incredible value. Gore has elite breaking stuff and his numbers have improved in each of his four seasons, so there’s reason to believe he can be a true ace over the remainder of his rookie deal.

Jeff Passan named Gore the Cubs’ best fit at the deadline, noting that a deal is “unlikely because of the exorbitant cost and Chicago’s propensity to play things safe amid budgetary constraints.” But when you consider that Gore’s impact on payroll would be nominal relative to his projected performance, even with two arb raises, the budget shouldn’t be much of an issue. The prospect cost, however, would be Owen Caissie-plus-plus. Maybe substitute top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins for one of those plusses.

There might be some concern about putting three lefties in the playoff rotation, with Shōta Imanaga and Matthew Boyd currently serving as co-aces, but that would have been the case with a healthy Steele. Besides, Gore’s platoon splits are nominal and he’s traditionally been tougher on righties. With this feeling more like a pipe dream, let’s turn quickly to a less expensive option.

The Cubs need bullpen help as well, and Francys Romero noted that they’re one of the teams most actively monitoring Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, a player they’ve reportedly coveted for a while now. The 27-year-old righty has 23 saves and is on a very reasonable five-year, $20 million deal that runs through next season with club options of $10 million for 2027 and ’28. That control is quite valuable.

Clase’s deal has a number of different escalators, but that’s not a big deal because triggering them would mean he’s pitched well. This strikes me as another scenario that’s a little far-fetched given the likely cost and number of rival suitors.

The same could be said for pretty much any big name, something the Marlins have two of in the rotation right now. Talk about Sandy Alcántara is taking up most of the oxygen in the room because he’s seemingly been on the block for years. The buzz around Edward Cabrera is growing, however, as he’s pitching like the kind of guy who could headline a playoff rotation. Alcántara…not so much.

Cabrera pitches backwards, throwing his change and curve more often than his sinker or four-seam, and he’s able to generate both whiffs and grounders at a solid rate. He’s earning just $1.95 million in his first year of arbitration and still has three more years of club control. His current and projected performance alone will make him very expensive in terms of the trade return, then you’ve got the cheap years of control driving the price even higher.

It’s possible the market shifting to Cabrera could make Alcántara the more viable play, though I remain very concerned that his poor performance can’t be turned around overnight. He feels like someone you’d acquire in the offseason, as he might not be able to help with the playoff push. Heck, it’s possible he’d have a negative impact. Then again, he just threw seven shutout innings against the Padres.

Michael Salfino of The Athletic believes a little tweak is all it’ll take and pitching guru Eno Sarris, also of The Athletic, says he’d buy Alcántara as an upside play. What might have been an exorbitant ask earlier in the season has probably come down quite a bit, especially considering his $11.2 AAV deal that runs through next year ($17.3M actual) with a club for $21 million in 2027.

There are a lot more names than this to whom the Cubs are being connected, but going through all of them would mean either writing 5,000 words or bulleting everything in blurb form. The latter would have made the most sense, but that’s water over the dam at this point. Expect a lot more on these and other rumors over the next week.