CHICAGO (670 The Score) – The direction of the 2024 Cubs been determined.
The Cubs’ focus in trade talks as the deadline looms on July 30 will be on 2025 and beyond, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday evening. The Cubs don’t plan on acquiring any rental players whose contracts expire after the 2024 season.
In other words, the Cubs will primarily be sellers.
With that in mind, the question turns to which players the Cubs could trade. Right-hander Jameson Taillon has been garnering a lot of attention in recent days. The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles have all expressed interest in the 32-year-old Taillon, sources said.
Taillon is 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP in 16 starts for the Cubs this season. He has struck out 75 batters and walked 18 in 93 innings. Taillon has pitched well lately, posting a 2.68 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in his last seven starts. Six of those were quality starts, and he fell just one out short of one in the other.
Taillon is in the second season of a four-year, $68-million deal. He’s owed $18 million in 2025 and 2026. Taillon has a limited no-trade clause. Prior to the season, he provided a list of 10 teams to the Cubs that he can veto a trade to. The identity of those clubs isn't known publicly.
“It's always nice to be wanted,” Taillon told 670 The Score. “I had a pitching coach in the minor leagues right after I signed with the Pirates who said, ‘There are scouts everywhere you will pitch in your career. You are always auditioning for all 30 clubs.’ That alerted me right away as to how much a business baseball is. It’s always better to be wanted. It's much better than the flip side.”
Taillon also knows he can’t let the rumors distract him from his job on the mound.
“I have been through this stuff before,” Taillon said. “Playing in New York (in 2021 and 2022) kind of toughens your skin a little bit. I am sure it affects some guys more than others. For me, you just have to go out and make pitches. We also get paid well and get to play a kid's game for a living. But after I talk to you, I get to go out and throw a bullpen on a beautiful day at Wrigley Field. This is pretty sweet.”
The veteran relievers in the Cubs’ bullpen will likely be available across the next seven days. Hector Neris (3.63 ERA), Mark Leiter Jr. (4.50 ERA) and Drew Smyly (2.79 ERA) will be coveted by opposing clubs.
Neris’ contract includes a $9-million team option for 2025, but it becomes a player option if he pitches in 60 games or finishes 45 games in 2024 and isn’t on the injured list at season’s end. With 60 games remaining for the Cubs, Neris has appeared in 37 games and finished 25 as of Tuesday morning.
Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger would’ve been a prime trade candidate if not for a fractured finger that he’s still mending. Bellinger has been progressing and hitting in the cage lately but isn’t ready to come off the injured list yet.
His contract is a complicating factor for any team interested in acquiring him. Bellinger is in the first season of a three-year, $80-million deal that includes opt-out clauses after this season and again after the 2025 campaign. That gives the 29-year-old Bellinger a good deal of control over his future.
As the Cubs consider moving players, a major weakness they want to address is their catching position. Veteran Yan Gomes was released in late June after hitting .154 with a .421 OPS. The 25-year-old Miguel Amaya has also struggled at the plate, hitting .221 with three homers and a .594 OPS in 71 games.
“Our catcher production has been poor,” Hoyer said. “If you look at where we rank in the league, catching has been a struggle. I do feel Miguel has come on a little recently, but one difference between this year and last year is our lineup has felt more shallow. We have had many games where we felt the bottom of the order was not producing. Last year, we were pretty deep scoring runs one through nine. That hasn't happened (this year), and the catching position has been a part of that.”
A catching prospect to keep an eye on is 22-year-old Kyle Teel, who’s playing at Double-A Portland in the Red Sox organization. Teel is hitting .305 with nine homers, 51 RBIs and an .861 OPS in 68 games at Double-A this season, and he’s a good defensive player. The Red Sox selected him at No. 14 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.
He’d be a quality addition for the Cubs, though it would take an expanded deal that includes Taillon and others going back to the Red Sox.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.