Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki and Matt Shaw perfect trade bait for pitcher

The Chicago Cubs are expected to make an aggressive move for pitching help by Monday’s trade deadline, and there will be a steep price attached for a quality starting pitcher.

The Cubs reportedly have reached out to the Detroit Tigers about Tarik Skubal, and the Tigers want three MLB players in addition to Ben Brown.

It’s unlikely Chicago would be willing to give up that for Skubal, and there are other pitchers the team can go for that would come at less of a cost.

Ben Nightengale of USA Today predicted the Cubs to trade for Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock. Chicago would have to trade Seiya Suzuki and Matt Shaw to make the deal happen.

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“The Chicago Cubs will acquire starting pitcher Emerson Hancock from the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Seiya Suzuki and infielder Matt Shaw,” Nightengale wrote. “The Cubs desperately need another starting pitcher, and while no one will mistake Hancock with Tarik Skubal, Hancock is the best young pitcher on the market and is under control through 2031.

“The Mariners badly need an injection on offense. Suzuki provides plenty of power – 18 homers and 60 RBIs this year – while Shaw is a nice replacement for infielder J.P. Crawford when he likely departs as a free agent.”

Hancock has an ERA of 3.26 with 102 strikeouts in 110.1 innings pitched. The 27-year-old right-hander recently gave up three earned runs in a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

Giving up Suzuki would not be ideal for Chicago. But a player of his caliber is what it will take to add a quality arm to the rotation in the hopes of making a long postseason run. Shaw is an obvious choice for trade bait.

The Cubs have enough on the roster to make the playoffs, but they won’t be a serious World Series contender without another starting pitcher, and a painful move will be required to make a trade happen.

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