The Cubs Should Trade For Ken Giles And Maybe They're Trying To

Right now Kyle Ryan, Rowan Wick and Brandon Kintzler are the most trusted relievers in the Cubs bullpen, as Steve Cishek kinda looks gassed, Pedro Strop has an injury or something and Craig Kimbrel has been underwhelming. So yeah, the Cubs still need help in the bullpen.

Easy solution, trade for Blue Jays righty Ken Giles.

The Cubs have had trade talks with the Blue Jays, reportedly being one of the final teams in on infielder Eric Sogard, but ultimately they lost out to the Rays.

Cubs tried for Sogard, offering a player that interested the Jays. But apparently, Jays liked Rays offer better.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 28, 2019

Daniel Hudson is also a possible trade target, but if the Cubs really want to solidify their bullpen they’ll push hard for Giles.

And maybe they are in the mix. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal dropped this little nugget in The Athletic on Monday.

Via The Athletic.

All of the contenders, including the Red Sox, are in on Jays closer Ken Giles and many are pursuing Daniel Hudson as well.

Hey, the Cubs are contenders!

And it’s not like the Cubs haven’t been linked to Giles before, it’s just been a while since any reported interest has been out there. Back in May, the Cubs were supposedly asking the Blue Jays about the closer’s availability.

On Inside the Clubhouse @670TheScore Jays broadcaster Buck Maritinez confirmed the Cubs have asked about the availability of closer Ken Giles
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) May 18, 2019

Giles has been great in 2019, posting a 1.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, with 58 strikeouts and 11 walks in 35 innings. He had his struggles during the 2017 postseason with the Astros and had a bad 2018, but otherwise he’s been great during his career. The 28-year-old has a 2.68 ERA in 335 MLB appearances, striking out 4.47 batters per every walk.

Oh and what’s even better about trading for Giles is that he’s still under team control through the 2020 season.

The Blue Jays just traded starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to the Mets for minor league pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson. Stroman is also under team control through next season and the Mets only had to send two pitchers who aren’t close to being top-100 prospects.

It’s the best case scenario for the Cubs, but you do have to acknowledge that only a couple days before the trade deadline it seems like getting Giles is a long shot.

But I’ll still keep my fingers crossed.