Chicago Cubs Trade Pitch Lands Best Relief Pitcher in Baseball

The struggling Chicago Cubs bullpen would add a future star from the Oakland A's.

May 1, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller (19) pitches / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs secured themselves at least a split in their series against the New York Mets on Wednesday night, putting them in a position to win three of four in the Queens on Thursday afternoon.

While the offense has struggled during the series, scoring six combined runs, the pitching staff has been elite. There are concerns about the staff and when factoring in the injuries to Justin Steele and others, some of the concerns are warranted.

However, the Cubs bullpen, specifically, hasn't been good enough this season. They currently hold a bottom 10 team ERA at 4.43, have given up the 10th most home runs, and are third in walks allowed with 64.

Chicago has won games, despite the bullpen struggling, but this isn't a recipe for success over a full 162 games. If they continue playing this way and make the postseason, the bullpen needs to be able to get outs. At the very least, they can't have the third-most walks in baseball as teams will eventually capitalize on that.

A proposed trade from Roger Castillo of FanSided would help with the bullpen issues. In Castillo's proposed trade, he mocks a deal that sends Mason Miller of the Oakland Athletics to the Cubs.

Miller has taken over the baseball world in recent weeks, proving to be the best relief pitcher in the game this season by a wide margin. The 25-year-old has a 1.26 ERA and has struck out 29 hitters in just 14 1/3 innings pitched. Perhaps the biggest indication of how well he's thrown is his FIP, currently at -0.07. A negative FIP is unheard of, but not for the hard-throwing right-hander.

The deal would send Michael Arias and Porter Hodge to the Athletics.

While it's exciting to think about adding him to the bullpen, it'd be shocking to see Oakland move Miller. He's clearly going to be a star for a very long time and fans love him. Unless John Fisher pulls a John Fisher and makes another horrible decision his fan base hates, don't expect Miller to get moved.