In most seasons, the Chicago Cubs would be clear-cut sellers. Even with their victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon, the Cubs are six games under the .500 mark at 50-56.
Despite their record, they are still in the thick of the playoff race in the National League. Chicago is 6.0 games behind the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot.
They are one good run away from closing the gap considerably. However, there is a lot of work to do as five teams are between the Cubs and Mets in the standings.
Chicago could certainly look to make some marginal upgrades to their roster given how much of a logjam there is in the standings. Alas, it seems likely that the Cubs will make moves ahead of the deadline on July 31st as sellers.
One of the most popular names on the rumor mill currently is starting pitcher Jameson Taillon. Teams who don’t want to shop at the top of the market for players such as Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers or Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox could turn their attention to Taillon.
Plenty of teams have already been linked to Taillon, and another one could join the fray. In the opinion of Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report, the veteran starter is an ideal target for the Boston Red Sox.
“The Red Sox are openly seeking help for a pitching staff that has fallen on hard times of late,” Rymer wrote.
Along with Taillon, Rymer has listed former Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi as another potential target. Eovaldi pitched 4.5 seasons with Boston before landing the Texas Rangers following the 2022 season.
Tyler Anderson, another popular name on the rumor mill, was also mentioned by Rymer. Anderson, an All-Star for the Los Angeles Angels this season, has a 2.91 ERA through 20 starts this season.
Boston has a delicate balancing act to do. They have done a wonderful job rebuilding their farm system, which is ranked No. 8 in baseball. If they want to be aggressive, they have the means to be.
Is making an aggressive move worth it for the Red Sox, who have several key veterans that are going to hit free agency this winter? That is a decision general manager Brian O’Halloran will have to make in the coming days.
