Tampa Bay Rays Veteran Right-Hander Makes Sense for Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have led the National League Central division for a majority of the season. However, after posting a .500 record over their last 10 games, including a blowout loss against their crosstown rivals, the Cubs have fallen back into second place.

They now trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game, and they have to make some moves ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

It is no secret Chicago has some holes to fill on their big league roster. Third base has become a problem for the team, which is the major fix they need in the lineup. Matt Shaw is still young and getting used to the bigs, but his struggles at the plate overall have hurt the team.

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Their bench bats have not been much better, either.

The Cubs do not have someone they can reliably use to fill in when a starter needs a break. Vidal Brujan is slashing .227/.239/.295 with no home runs and just three RBI. Jon Berti has posted a .214/.267/.235 slash line with zero home runs and two RBI.

Filling those holes is a massive need for Chicago, but it is not the point of emphasis as the trade deadline approaches.

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What they need is more pitching.

After Justin Steele went down for the season earlier this year, Shota Imanaga also had to miss some time. Jameson Taillon has been out since the end of June, Javier Assad has not pitched an inning this season and Ben Brown has been ineffective.

With their starting pitching getting weaker and weaker, Chicago has to make a move at the trade deadline if they are going to continue to contend for the NL Central crown.

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With that in mind, a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for one of their starting pitchers could be a great move for the team.

The Athletic (subscription required) recently predicted which player from each team will be wearing a new jersey after the July 31 deadline, and Zack Littell of the Rays was one of them.

Littell would slot into the rotation the first day he is in a Cubs uniform.

As it stands right now, their rotation consists of Imanaga, Collin Rea, Cade Horton and All-Star Matt Boyd. When Taillon returns, he will be the fifth starter, but there is still room for improvement.

After a rough outing on Friday night, Littell still owns a 3.72 ERA over 21 starts this season. He has thrown 128.1 innings, struck out 85 batters, walked 17 and opponents are slashing .257/.287/.463 off him. He has allowed 26 home runs, which will be a problem playing at Wrigley Field, but the numbers are still encouraging.

Chicago has to be aware that the 29-year-old is in the last season of his contract, so he would be a rental for the them. But he is the type of pitcher who could help the team during that time.

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The question is whether or not the price tag is in line with what they are willing to give up.

The Rays might be trying to leverage him while forcing teams to give up more than they want to, and in what's expected to be a seller's market, that could be exactly what happens.

Littell is not a Cy Young-caliber pitcher, but he has the talent to give the Cubs a reliable starter in the middle of their rotation.

If Chicago is looking to trade for a starting pitcher without giving up some of their top farm talent, Littell could be the answer.

For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.