3 Cubs who weren’t traded at the deadline, but will be gone this offseason

The Cubs decided to position themselves as late sellers at the MLB trade deadline. Still, these players are coming up on their final days.

The Chicago Cubs at one point looked like one of the most obvious sellers in regards to the MLB trade deadline. After all, Chicago had players on contracts set to expire that were performing well while the rest of the team around those disparate pieces failed to click.

Then, almost suddenly, it all started to work. Chicago won as many as eight straight leading up to the trade deadline and convinced management they should be buyers, not sellers.

As such, the strategy changed dramatically, and pieces that were almost sure things to be on the move ended up staying in Chicago for the postseason push. Some of them won’t be long for the North Side, though.

Expect to see these Cubs, who weren’t traded, gone from the team before next season starts.

Cubs need to cut losses on Jameson Taillon

Jameson Taillon, one of the marquee signings of free agency for the Cubs, has not panned out how Chicago had hoped at all. Following a triumphant few years where Taillon revitalized his career reputation and trajectory, he cashed in with a multi-year contract worth $68 million. The Cubs look like they got a lemon so far this season with Taillon currently holding a 5.36 ERA (85 ERA+) and 1.394 WHIP. And this is just year one.

The good news is that Taillon is improving as the year goes on with two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. His ERA, which peaked at 8.2 on May 20, has fallen to 5.36 as of Saturday.

I’m skeptical of the results, though, with him giving up exactly seven hits in three of those five instances. He’s proven the ability to work out of trouble, but his FIP (field independent pitching) is still above 4.5, the third-worst among Cubs qualifying pitchers. But if his progress continues, Chicago should leverage that by stoking some trade interest in the struggling player ready to come around.

Simply put, I think Taillon is improving enough to get some bites in the offseason trade market, and though the return may not be what Chicago wants for a pitcher once thought to be a game-changer, they should go ahead and sell to get themselves out of the contract (both in length and financially) to earn themselves the flexibility to spend elsewhere.

Taillon’s contract goes through 2026 and increases in value up to $18 million for the final three years. Getting out of this one would be a big help to the flexibility the front office has in its decision making.