The Chicago Cubs’ bullpen struggle is nothing new this year. The bullpen blew up a 1-0 lead in a game against the Colorado Rockies early this month. That time, Shota Imanaga offered a dominant start, but the bullpen blew it up. Saturday proved to be worse as they blew up a 5-0 lead against the Toronto Blue Jays. Colin Rea had a scoreless 5 1/3 innings, followed up by the bullpen’s 8 runs. Enough for manager Craig Counsell to be frustrated, and he didn’t hide after the game.

“We didn’t have a good day in the bullpen. Colin pitched great, definitely put us in position to win … We just didn’t get it done in the bullpen today,” Marquee Sports Network quoted Counsell.

The Cubs were as dominant as they could be in the first five innings, riding on Rea. After Rea’s scoreless 5 1/3 innings with 3 SOs, Counsell gave it to Ryan Rolison, despite Rea’s 78 pitches. Rolison carried the momentum, getting Nathan Lukes in an inning-ending double play with just one pitch. For Counsell, the situation was more than perfect to leverage on his bullpen. And here come Trent Thornton, Caleb Thielbar, and Jacob Webb for the final three.

“I mean, that’s how we want tomorrow’s game to go,” Counsell said.

That’s when things began to unravel for the Cubs.

With Chicago holding a comfortable 5-0 lead, Tyler Thornton entered the mound in the seventh inning and he ran into trouble almost immediately. He surrendered a three run homer to Daulton Varsho. Thielbar took over and ended the 7th, but still loaded two Jays runners in the next inning, and Counsell didn’t risk but field Webb on the mound. Webb surrendered two straight RBI singles to Alejandro Kirk and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and another three-run homer to Kazuma Okamoto.

The Jays won the game 8-6. It comes as the latest in the recent struggle of Webb, who gave up 7 runs in his last 5 outings. It was not a great day for him, and it’s something he agrees to also.

“I just didn’t … execute today. Period. Plain and simple,” Webb said. “I’m coming in to stop the game right there. It’s not anything other than that. I mean, the last few outings, I’ve just made mistake after mistake, truly. And it’s pretty … frustrating, I’m not going to lie.”

Now, the Cubs’ bullpen still holds a respectable 3.82 ERA, but in June so far, it has increased to a 4.94 ERA. And the injuries are making it worse. Dalen Palencia is in a 15-day IL with a right flexor strain. Hunter Harvey is in a 60-day IL, and so is Cade Horton. With such a scene in Chicago, a strong trade deadline could only help the Cubs stay in the playoff race.

A strong trade deadline is not luxury anymore for the Cubs

The Cubs need new names, especially in the pitching staff. “Your World Series odds are probably going to be correlated to your odds of getting a bye, and getting a bye is such a big deal,” Cubs owner Jed Hoyer said. “A lot of that aggressiveness is based on that ability to get the bye.”

The Cubs are currently ranked third in the NL Central with a 40-37 record and just 5 games behind the division-topper, the Milwaukee Brewers. So, they are still in the playoff race, and that should make their trade deadline a blockbuster. A trade around the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal would become a reality. With Justin Steele, Matthew Boyd, and Jameson Taillon still out of the roster, Skubal could make a cut. But he is surely not coming cheap.

The Tigers are expecting some top prospects for Skubal, and the Cubs could offer Jaxon Wiggins, Kevin Alcantara, and Dominick Reid. The Boston Red Sox’s Sonny Gray is also being linked to the Cubs. However, we are yet to hear about any relievers. The Cubs immediately need bullpen help, and not getting rumored with someone is disheartening for the fans.