It hasn’t been the start the Chicago Cubs had hoped for coming off a World Series in 2016 but its’ still May and there’s plenty of games left.
At 18-19, the Cubs sit 3.5 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central and are coming off a series loss in St. Louis. The Cubs haven’t played defense well, haven’t got timely hitting and haven’t pitched well.
But the biggest concern might be the starting pitching.
After having one of the best staffs in all of baseball, the Cubs starters have struggled this year. The most recent proof of that came on Sunday when Jake Arrieta was tagged for 4 runs in a 5-0 loss to the Cardinals in the series finale.
Arrieta is just 4-3 on the year and has an ERA of 5.44. As a staff, the Cubs starters have an ERA of 4.47 this season which is 11th-worst in all of baseball.
With the struggles, the Cubs could be looking to add some pitching at the deadline. One of the pitchers that could be available is Zack Greinke.
MLB writer Keith Law discussed the possibility of the Cubs adding Greinke before the MLB Trade Deadline when he appeared on Buster Olney’s podcast:
“I’d heard specifically they were scouting Zack Greinke pretty heavily in spring training; more than just ordinary spring training coverage. And that that was part of a plan to go out and scout pitchers with multiple years of control remaining and potential to be a one or two starter in their rotation.”
You can listen to the full podcast here.
Greinke signed a 6-year-deal worth $206.5 million back in 2016 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, so the contract is a bit of a concern. The pitcher didn’t have a great year in 2016 but has rebounded with a nice year so far in 2017.
In 8 starts, Greinke is 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning last week and seems to have his stuff again.
The other thing is that the Diamondbacks might still be in the hunt for a Wild Card Spot come the deadline and they might be looking to buy rather than sell.
While it’s still early, keep an eye on this rumor as the Cubs will likely look to add some pitching help this year.
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