It’s no secret that the Chicago Cubs need a starting pitcher at the Trade Deadline.
After all the injuries the Cubs have sustained throughout the season, that much is apparent.
However, this deadline is a little different than most previous ones in that it’s hard to determine who is selling, even less than two weeks prior.
Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic talked about the uncertainty the Cubs and every other buyer faces during this period.
While doing so, Sharma gave six starting pitchers he thinks the Cubs will be in on from obvious sellers. New York Mets starter Clay Holmes is one of those starters.
Why Is the Deadline so Uncertain for the Chicago Cubs?
If it seems like almost every team in MLB is in the playoff hunt, it’s because they are! There are fewer “sellers” this year than ever, especially in the American League, and Cubs executive Jed Hoyer understands that.
“There’s so much uncertainty about who’s going to be buying, who’s going to be selling,” Cubs team president Jed Hoyer recently said. “There’s probably some team that’s talking about selling right now that ends up buying and vice versa. That’s because (the deadline) isn’t tomorrow. We have almost three weeks until the deadline. I expect things will gain clarity towards the very end when teams finally get to that point.”
The Boston Red Sox are a perfect example of that. Once thought to be one of the worst teams in baseball, the Red Sox rattled off 15 consecutive wins to cement themselves not only back in the playoff race, but also as buyers at the deadline.
While Red Sox starter Sonny Gray seemed like a great fit for Chicago, he is seemingly off the table now.
But one intriguing starter from one of the worst teams in baseball will not only be on the table, but also a great fit for Chicago.
More On Clay Holmes
While Holmes has spent much of this season on the injured list, he’s still a hot commodity. The two-time All-Star reliever-turned-starter had a 2.39 ERA in nine starts before falling to a fibula injury.
Sharma seems to think he would be a great fit.
“Expect the Cubs to keep close tabs on Holmes’ rehab start on Thursday as he works his way back from a broken right fibula,” Sharma wrote. “Holmes won’t miss a ton of bats, but his high ground ball rate (56 percent) would work beautifully with the Cubs. He has a player option for next season, but most don’t expect him to pick that up. That could complicate negotiations, but it seems like many teams will be treating him as a pending free agent.”
While Holmes has just 44 career starts, with 40 of them coming in the last two seasons with the Mets, he has done very well for himself as a starter.
With the Mets, he has a 3.26 ERA working mostly as a starter. Since teams might have to worry about his injury recovery, his price shouldn’t be too high for Chicago.
With Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Edward Cabrera missing time this season, among others, the Cubs need to go after someone they can depend on for a quality start.
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