CUBS GRAB EXTRA PITCHING HELP BEFORE TRADE DEADLINE
Cubs get Kintzler from Nats minutes before deadline and start newly acquired Hamels today PAGES 56-57
PITTSBURGH — The Cubs approached the final days to the trading deadline like they couldn’t add enough pitching before August.
They might get a good idea quickly about whether they were right.
After adding another former closer, Brandon Kintzler, in a trade with the Nationals less than two hours before the deadline Tuesday afternoon, the Cubs got another short start from the rotation. Ace Jon Lester went only five innings in a 5-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park.
Kintzler, who’s expected to join the bullpen Wednesday, is the third pitcher the Cubs added in trades for minor-leaguers in the last two weeks leading to the non-waiver deadline.
The one in position to make the biggest impact, Cole Hamels, makes his Cubs debut Wednesday with the team seeking a much-needed victory against a Pirates team that suddenly looks like a threat to the Cubs’ division-title hopes.
“They’ve been a solid team all year,” Lester (12-4) said of the Pirates, who won for the 16th time in 20 games and made Lester spend 101 pitches in five innings. “I think people kind of wrote them off early. Really other than getting rid of [Andrew] McCutchen [in an offseason trade], their lineup hasn’t changed . ... And their young [pitchers] all have good arms.”
Then in the 18 hours before the deadline, the Pirates traded for Rangers closer Keone Kela and landed the best starting pitcher traded during the month in Chris Archer from the Rays.
“This team is definitely not out of it,” said Lester, who gave up an RBI double and a two-run homer in the third inning.
“It’s interesting to see what the Pirates are doing right now,” Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks said. “We knew every team was going to be solid in our division. We said that from the start, and with two months left, you can’t leave anything to chance.”
The Pirates moved to six games back of the first-place Cubs with the victory. The Brewers, in a virtual tie with the Cubs after a 1-0 victory against the Dodgers late Tuesday, added two more bats in the last three days before the deadline in former All-Stars Mike Moustakas from the Padres and Jonathan Schoop from the Orioles.
“Every team still has a chance in this race, especially with the rosters that we all have,” Hendricks said. The Cubs?
Kintzler, who was acquired for high Class A pitcher Jhon Romero, saved 29 games for the Twins and Nationals last year and joins a bullpen that includes three others with closing experience: Steve Cishek, Justin Wilson and Brandon Morrow (on the disabled list with biceps inflammation).
“If you look at our group right now without Brandon being in there, there’s a lot of guys that can finish a game,” said manager Joe Maddon, who also pointed to the ability to use one of those tested arms in the sixth as a “middle closer” in a hot spot. “And then here comes Brandon back, and all of a sudden, it gets really fun.”
It’s at least unclear when that might be. Morrow still hasn’t thrown a baseball since the last time he pitched, in the last game before the All-Star break.
The Cubs also are awaiting the return of Kris Bryant from an achy shoulder sometime in August.
Meanwhile, they need innings from their starters, with Hamels, the four-time All-Star, getting the next shot to infuse some life into the Cubs’ final stretch.
And with Jesse Chavez and Kintzler added to a bullpen mix that already was considered the Cubs’ best and deepest in years, lefty Randy Rosario (1.97 ERA) likely will have to make room on the roster for Kintzler.
“We addressed what we wanted to address,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “We were pretty clear that we wanted to add pitching and pitching depth, and we did that. Now it comes down to how we play.”