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Trades the Cubs and Mets need to make to get back to the NLCS
- Updated: July 18, 2016
2:28 AM ET
On the morning of May 11, the Chicago Cubs woke up with a 25-6 record and an .806 winning percentage courtesy of a remarkable run differential of plus-103 runs. The New York Mets woke up with a 20-12 record and a dominating starting rotation. A rematch in the National League Championship Series looked like a distinct possibility, even a probability.
As always, however: It’s a long season. Since then the Cubs have gone 30-30, the Mets have gone 29-30 and neither team looks as powerful as it did in early May. With the two teams squaring off on ESPN each of the next three nights, including a Noah Syndergaard-Jake Arrieta showdown on Tuesday, here are three trades each team could consider to help it get back to the NLCS.
CUBS
Could the Cubs nab one of the Yankees’ bullpen duo of Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller? Getty Images
1. Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman. The Cubs’ bullpen woes aren’t quite as miserable as the popular perception, but it has been more mediocre than World Series-worthy outside of closer Hector Rondon. While the Cubs have lost just one game they led after seven innings, the Cubs’ bullpen is 15th in the majors in ERA and 16th in Win Probability Added. Also, most of the relievers have outperformed their FIP, so there’s the potential the bullpen won’t even be mediocre moving forward. Finally, Travis Wood and Clayton Richard are the only lefties. Richard has been terrible and Wood isn’t the high-velocity guy you prefer in the late innings. Thus, Miller or Chapman make sense. The issue with bringing in Chapman is that he probably has to be the closer, so you worry about what that could do to Rondon’s pysche. Miller makes more sense and is reportedly the Cubs’ No. 1 target, except he’ll cost more and there’s no guarantee the Yankees will trade him anyway.
2. Backup bullpen plans. Even if the Yankees trade Miller, there’s no guarantee he …
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