Cubs Could Move Fan-Favorite Pitcher at Trade Deadline

Will the Chicago Cubs be buyers or sellers at this season's MLB trade deadline?

That is the question as they prepare to start the second half of the year coming out of the MLB All-Star break. 

Despite being 42-47, they are the only team in the National League Central with a positive run differential. But they still are quite far out of the National League Central race.

That means many have them pegged as sellers. Names like Marcus Stroman, Cody Bellinger and Kyle Hendricks have all been floated as possible trade chips.

But fan-favorite Mark Leiter Jr.?

According to Yahoo Sports the Cubs could look into moving the right-hander by the Aug. 1 deadline. 

"Okay, so trading Leiter likely wouldn’t be a popular move based on his performance this season as one of the bullpen’s most-consistently reliable arms, but a team could very well give the Cubs a solid return if they would choose to move him," writes James Neveau.

"After all, Leiter has a 3.19 ERA and has racked up 52 strikeouts in 36.2 innings of work, with his splitter serving as one of baseball’s most devastating pitches."

To be honest, it's not a bad plan.

Leiter is on a one-year, $850,000 contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He is a reliable bullpen arm that has pitched in big situations this season already.

Every contender is looking for bullpen help and Leiter is the precise type of player a contender will look to acquire to bolster their roster for a postseason run.

It would be a hard pill to swallow for Cubs fans as Leiter has endeared himself to the fanbase and been a bright spot in the first half of the season. 

But he could also command a return that would help the franchise continue to build towards their ultimate goal of compiling a World Series contending roster. 

It's not a fun idea, but it's also not a bad one.