MLB trade rumors: NL East team emerging as favorite for Cubs’ Craig Kimbrel?

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the running for Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

All eyes are on the Chicago Cubs, who have pointed towards blowing the team up by the July 30 MLB trade deadline. One of their more valuable trade chips is closer Craig Kimbrel, who is having a career resurgence in the Windy City. There are no doubt going to be many teams interested in his services, and we now have the identity of one.

According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, the Philadelphia Phillies are in on Kimbrel less than a week away from the deadline. Additionally, they may have an interest in Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera as well.

Phillies interested in Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel

Are the Phillies in on a late-inning reliever? You should not be shocked by this news, especially with their never-ending woes in the bullpen.

Through 96 games played this season, the Phillies have had 45 save opportunities. Out of those chances, the Phillies have blown 23 of them, which is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most in the majors, per Baseball-Reference. Even with the additions, they made this past offseason, the struggles are still there. Kimbrel could potentially be Philadelphia’s savior.

After a tumultuous first two seasons with the Cubs, Kimbrel has officially turned things around in 2021. Through 37 games, Kimbrel has recorded a .051 ERA, a 0.679 WHIP, 61 strikeouts and 12 walks over 35.1 innings of work.

Adding Kimbrel could do wonders for the Phillies, who are just four games behind the New York Mets for first place in the NL East as of this writing. However, there are going to be plenty of other teams in need of Kimbrel to shore up the bullpen. The clock is ticking for the Phillies to strike a deal with the Cubs.