So, at first this doesn't sound like anything juicy between the Cubs and Padres, as San Diego is facing a roster crunch and is looking to get something for a few pitchers they're not trying to keep. However, what if the Cubs make this a bigger trade and add Addison Russell in talks?
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Padres are trying to trade a couple pitchers in separate deals and the Cubs are one of the teams involved in trade talks at the moment.
And it appears as if the Padres have already made one trade with Colten Brewer going to the Red Sox.
That means the Cubs may very well be in the process of trading for Rowan Wick at this very moment. The return, just like in the Red Sox trade, would be a lower-level prospect, who won't be on the 40-man roster. Wick, 26, made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2018, making 10 relief appearances. He had a 6.48 ERA in 8.1 innings, but almost all of that damage came in one game against the Reds, allowing five of six earned runs in that game. The right-hander has always been a reliever since he started his pro career in the minors. Overall, Wick recorded a 2.84 ERA in 142.2 innings over 130 minor league games. Last season in 29 games at Double-A and 20 games at Triple-A, Wick had a 2.67 ERA in 54 innings. So, the Cubs might be getting Wick and he'd be used just like all those Iowa Cubs pitchers were last year. Back and forth for depth and maybe he could earn a permanent spot in the bullpen eventually. But again, this would simply be a depth move for the Cubs if they do indeed make a trade for Wick. Oh, I almost forgot about the Addison Russell part. Pretty simple. Maybe the Cubs discuss Russell in trade talks and make this a or a different trade bigger with the Padres. The Cubs still have to make a decision to tender Russell, who is currently suspended under the league's domestic violence policy. Russell could fit in with the Padres current roster. As a reminder, today is the deadline to set each team's 40-man roster and protect players from the rule 5 draft.
