The Cubs are *going* to get another reliever by the time the trade deadline passes tomorrow. There are simply too many options out there, and too much risk in the bullpen if the Cubs don’t take this opportunity to add another arm while they can do so before the waiver process kicks in.
To that end, the Cubs have long been among the teams most closely connected to Marlins reliever Brad Ziegler, a veteran free-agent-to-be who is basically as guaranteed as anyone to be dealt this trade season.
And it sounds like he might be their guy:
Source: #Cubs moving closer to trade for #Marlins RHP Brad Ziegler. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2018
As we’ve discussed before, Ziegler is a 38-year-old elite groundball pitcher (thanks to his delivery – he’s at 74.0%(!!!) this year), who hasn’t been stellar the last two years with the Marlins, but was consistently excellent before that. He’s making $9 million this year, so, in trade, he’s really not going to cost much.
Thanks to a very hot streak, he’s got his ERA down to 3.98 this year (about league average), but his FIP’s about 15% worse than league average thanks to a pedestrian 17.4% strikeout rate and 8.0% walk rate. He’s also been stung uncharacteristically by the long ball this year – 1.21 HR/9.
But if he can just be a guy to call upon when you really want a grounder from a fellow righty, Ziegler could be a very valuable addition to a team like the Cubs.
UPDATE: The Trade Deadline, summed up in three updating tweets from Morosi:
#Cubs trade for Brad Ziegler is not done, source says, but it is close. #Marlins @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2018
Brad Ziegler trade to #Cubs is not close, according to a separate source. Sides have talked, but current status remains unclear. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2018
Further clarification on Brad Ziegler: #Cubs remain engaged with #Marlins, source says, but other teams are involved in the Ziegler talks. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2018