An emergency Cubs-White Sox trade to remove Hector Neris from the equation

The Chicago Cubs have a serious problem closing down baseball games right now. Hector Neris has now blown two of his last three save attempts, raising his season total to four blown saves. Neris is 10-of-14 on save attempts this season.

He's seen his season ERA climb to 4.73 after allowing runs in each of his last three outings. And it's the worst possible time for the Cubs closer to be doing this. The Cubs are one of nine National League teams competing for the final two wild card spots (the Braves have a stronghold on the top spot). Blowing games they should have won could be their eventual downfall.

They need a new closer, badly. The solution to their problem could already be in Chicago, just down on the Southside instead.

A Cubs-White Sox trade for Michael Kopech to replace Hector Neris

Michael Kopech, the closer for the White Sox, has flashed some serious promise this season. His season-long stats aren't too impressive, but he's young, controllable and could use a change of scenery to turn his season around.

A move to the Cubs makes sense. In the long run, the Cubs may opt to stick with Neris, but at the very least, Kopech adds another quality arm to the backend of games for Craig Counsell. He may be relatively expensive given the additional year of team control on his contract.

Two pitching prospects ranked 20th and 23rd in the Cubs system should get this deal done for them. Both right-handers have shown promise while in the Cubs system.

Birdsell, 24, has been pretty good in 2024. He holds a 3.72 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched while striking out 46 hitters. He'll need to continue to develop his changeup as he works through Double-A and Triple-A. His impressive command makes him quite a valuable asset.

Hodge, 23, has seen some time out of the Cubs bullpen this year. He has shown promise in these limited innings, but the sample size is far too small to create fair judgment. He'll need to continue to show that he can command his arsenal if he wants to stick in the big leagues.

For the Cubs, this move is about depth and potential. Kopech, if everything goes right, takes the spot from Neris and improves mightily with a change of scenery. At worst, Kopech slots in as the seventh or eighth-inning guy for the next two seasons and Neris stays as the closer. This deal is a fair one for both sides and one that could be looked into this deadline season.