This Cubs blockbuster is Chicago's only response to rivalry humiliation

What's largely been a dream season for the Chicago Cubs so far has abruptly threatened to turn into a nightmare. Losing a series at home to the Kansas City Royals to start the week was bad enough, but getting waxed by the lowly Chicago White Sox is something else entirely. Shota Imanaga on the mound seemed like the recipe for a comfortable win, but the lefty got waxed from pretty much first pitch, allowing seven runs on a whopping 12 hits in just three innings of work and looking so bad that Cubs fans started wondering whether he was unwittingly tipping his pitches.

With the Milwaukee Brewers losing at home to the Miami Marlins earlier in the day, the Cubs missed a golden opportunity to jump back into first place in the NL Central. But even more troublingly, they had several weak points exposed by a crosstown rival: A diminished Imanaga underlined just how badly this rotation needs reinforcements, and Ian Happ's continued struggles are showing everyone just how thin this bench really is.

There are still several days before the July 31 trade deadline, but Jed Hoyer might not be able to wait that long. The division is hanging in the balance, and this team is in need of a serious shot in the arm. So let's erase the memory of Friday's clunker with a blockbuster that would immediately rocket Chicago back toward the top of the NL pecking order in more ways than one.

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Cubs need to swing big for Joe Ryan after awful loss to White Sox

The starting rotation is the obvious area to address for Hoyer over the next few days. But many of the usual suspects either aren't pitching all that well right now (Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen) or don't profile as the sort of frontline guy that can take the ball in Game 1 or 2 of a postseason series (Mitch Keller, Seth Lugo, Merrill Kelly). Chicago may have to think outside the box a bit, and luckily the Minnesota Twins have multiple players who could fill needs on this roster.

Ryan is the headliner here, and for obvious reasons: He's a Cy Young candidate with a 2.63 ERA on the year who's under team control through 2027. Minnesota isn't actively shopping him, but they are willing to listen, especially considering the financial crunch the team is in right now. If the right offer comes along, they could be motivated to move him, and this would bring a potential middle-of-the-order bat at two positions of need (with the Twins likely moving on from Christian Vazquez and Ty France this offseason) while backfilling Ryan's spot in the rotation with a fast-rising prospect in Wiggins.

Losing both Ballesteros and Wiggins would hurt, but this is a rare opportunity in front of Chicago right now. They can't afford to let it slip, and they'd still have players like Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara and Jefferson Rojas waiting in the wings. Minnesota can add Wiggins and Brown to a core of pitching that includes Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, Zebby Matthews, Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa while giving their offense a huge boost. The Cubs, meanwhile, know that they're maximizing their one guaranteed year with Kyle Tucker while taking a bit of pressure off of Imanaga and Matthew Boyd.

And don't sleep on the Castro element here: Chicago's bench simply hasn't been good enough this year, and Castro would be an immense upgrade on Vidal Brujan in the utility role. He can play all over the diamond, he gets on base and he's every bit the athlete Brujan is, giving Craig Counsell tons of flexibility.