A Cubs-Blue Jays trade with Cubs determined to be surprising buyers

After getting swept in a doubleheader on Saturday, the Chicago Cubs entered the final day before the All-Star break with a 46-51 record, good for last place in the NL Central. FanGraphs gave them an 8.6 percent chance to make the postseason.

Despite those slim odds, the Cubs are not ready to give up yet. They entered the day just 4.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL, meaning that they can get right back into the race if they can go on a run immediately after the All-Star break.

If the Cubs buy, their needs are very clear. At the very least they need to upgrade their bullpen and acquire a catcher. Fortunately, Bob Nightengale of USA Today links Chicago to one of the best catching options out there, Danny Jansen of the Toronto Blue Jays.

"The Chicago Cubs have expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen."

A Cubs-Blue Jays trade to fill one of Chicago's biggest holes

Cubs catchers entered Sunday ranking 29th in the majors with a 39 WRC+ and dead last in the majors with -1.4 fWAR. Replacing Yan Gomes with Tomas Nido hasn't done much. The Cubs will need a catcher to make up ground, and Jansen, while he isn't a star by any means, would represent a massive upgrade.

The 29-year-old began Sunday with an underwhelming .223/.319/.397 slash line with six home runs and 17 RBI in his 56 games played. Despite that, his 106 WRC+ is substantially better than any Cubs catcher can dream of. He's only a rental, but that allows the Cubs to buy without giving up a ton to get him.

In this mock trade, the Cubs would send their No. 20 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Brandon Birdsell, north of the border. Birdsell pitched well for AA Tennessee, posting a 3.63 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) and 74.1 innings of work. He pitched so well, in fact, that the Cubs recently promoted him to AAA Iowa. He struggled in his first start at the AAA level, but the 24-year-old is knocking on the door now.

The Jays have a formidable rotation right now, but it's mostly made up of older veterans. Birdsell would add some much-needed starting pitching prospect depth to an organization that needs it.

Jansen has value as an above-average hitting catcher, but his rental status limits the potential return that the Jays can realistically get. Birdsell's ceiling probably isn't anything more than being a back-end starter at the MLB level, but that feels fair in a trade for a rental catcher.