No real surprise here, and nothing revelatory, but I had to leave you with SOMETHING for the overnight period while I slept in advance of the Blogathon kicking off tomorrow morning.
Based on conversations today, it seems as though the Red Sox, Nationals, Dodgers and Cubs are the most aggressive teams out there looking for bullpen help. The Braves are, too, though an outfielder currently appears to be Atlanta's top priority.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 30, 2019
The Cubs brought in Craig Kimbrel last night, and that obviously their biggest bullpen upgrade, and will remain so through the deadline. They added Derek Holland as a LOOGY, and that is also swell. But no one has any illusions about this bullpen being just fine without any other additions, so the Cubs are unsurprisingly working hard to make some kind of move to supplement that group – Steve Cishek and Brandon Kintzler and Kyle Ryan can carry only so much of the load for the final two months of the season.
Don’t expect the Cubs to splurge on an impact arm – in prospects or in cash – but there are a lot of interesting pieces out there, and this front office has shown an ability to grab very effective relievers out of the ether.
With that, I’m off to get my beauty rest for the shenanigans to come …