A Cubs-Rockies blockbuster trade that fills two major needs in Chicago

The Chicago Cubs have had quite an up-and-down season. Their pitching staff, for the most part, has kept them in the playoff race while they float around .500.

Baseball-Reference currently gives them a 31.7 percent chance to make the postseason, good for finishing just outside of the playoffs in these projections. These odds are down over 50 percent in the last month, which goes to show that Chicago needs to bolster their roster before it's too late.

Their biggest need is at catcher, where neither of their rostered catchers have been competitive. Starter Miguel Amaya has an OPS+ of 54 and backup Yan Gomes has an OPS+ of 18. Yikes.

The other hole is in the bullpen, where Chicago could always use depth. They may be able to tackle both these holes in one swift move with the selling Colorado Rockies.

A Cubs-Rockies trade to fill Chicago's two biggest needs

The Rockies have, potentially, the best catcher on the market right now in Elias Diaz. Diaz is currently slashing .303/.352/.439 while playing the premium spot as an everyday catcher. He slots in the middle of the order perfectly.

If the Cubs are willing to throw a bit more prospect capital to the Rockies, they could also get Victor Vodnik, a controllable reliever, in this deal. It would be quite the trade though.

The Cubs would need to send three of their top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, in this deal, including their ninth-ranked prospect Michael Arias.

McGeary, 24, has crazy high potential with the bat, though it hasn't shown in Double-A this year. He's likely still adjusting to the next level and needs time to continue to find himself. The 6-foot-6 first baseman has a ton of power though.

Birdsell, 24, is a serious strike thrower who also features quite a developed arsenal. In 35 professional starts, Birdsell has an ERA right around 3.00. Walks have never been the problem and his fastball is consistently in the mid 90's.

Arias, Chicago's ninth-ranked prospect, is an electric relief arm, one that would swap with Vodnik in this deal. Arias packs a punch with his high 90s fastball and could be a serious weapon out of the bullpen in a year or two.

But the Cubs need to win now and this trade for Diaz and Vodnik would help them do that. Vodnik is a good, controllable reliever that they would have for the next few years to help their bullpen. Diaz, though a rental, would be a huge addition to the Cubs offense for the next few months.