Starting rotation options available now

[Donzo]

17 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

If you are lazy and just look at the stat line. 

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

Is a 1.40 WHIP at AAA supposed to instill confidence in me?

We have better ways to determine value than WHIP. It's pretty outdated at this stage. 

His velocity has ticked up to 94 mph recently and his striking out nearly one out of every three hitters he has faced since a bad outing a bit ago. He looks healthy and has made progress to deserve a Crack. As well, I posted his underlying statcast data above, it looks very good.

He has dealt with a decent amount of injury and adversity in the last year and a half after debuting strong. I think the context of his health and where he is on that journey is important. 

He doesn't need to be a star. If he can be a capable MLB arm, we will be alright. Especially if the team gets a pitcher in the next few weeks and Wicks replaces Rea.

[Donzo]

Wicks has been good ever since he came back from that sparained akle or whatever that was. If WHIP is a big deal to ya, and I think it has a salient value, it's .81 since his return.

Perhaps most importantly were the very impressive reports from his last start on Sunday June 29th.

[Donzo]

From Cubs. com:

"Wicks, 25, went 1-3 with one save, a 4.06 ERA (20 ER/44.1 IP). In his last five starts dating to May 18, he has posted a 1.65 ERA (3 ER/16.1 IP) with 20 strikeouts, compared to just three walks, a 0.86 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average. In that span, he ranks second in WHIP, tied for fourth in ERA, sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.67) and 10th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (11.02) among Triple-A pitchers (min. 5 GS)."

[cubfansince77]

1 hour ago, Donzo said:

From Cubs. com:

"Wicks, 25, went 1-3 with one save, a 4.06 ERA (20 ER/44.1 IP). In his last five starts dating to May 18, he has posted a 1.65 ERA (3 ER/16.1 IP) with 20 strikeouts, compared to just three walks, a 0.86 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average. In that span, he ranks second in WHIP, tied for fourth in ERA, sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.67) and 10th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (11.02) among Triple-A pitchers (min. 5 GS)."

Here's hoping that he can put it together. It's not like he hasn't had some success in MLB. Looked good to start his career obviously, before injuries derailed him. 

Speaking of starting pitchers and injuries, I'm watching the Phils/Reds and Cinci just chased Jesus Luzardo after only two innings. He gave up 6 earned runs and looked brutal doing it. As you all know, we had a deal in place for him before his medical records scared us off. Dodged a big bullet gents, his ERA was 4.06 before imploding today:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6310063/2025/04/25/jesus-luzardo-phillies-cubs-marlins-trade-medical/

[Jason Ross]

5 minutes ago, cubfansince77 said:

Here's hoping that he can put it together. It's not like he hasn't had some success in MLB. Looked good to start his career obviously, before injuries derailed him. 

Speaking of starting pitchers and injuries, I'm watching the Phils/Reds and Cinci just chased Jesus Luzardo after only two innings. He gave up 6 earned runs and looked brutal doing it. As you all know, we had a deal in place for him before his medical records scared us off. Dodged a big bullet gents, his ERA was 4.06 before imploding today:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6310063/2025/04/25/jesus-luzardo-phillies-cubs-marlins-trade-medical/

Ignore the ERA, Luzardo has been awesome this year. He's tied for the 9th best fWAR in the league, and has the 15th best xFIP. He's been the 15th best SP in the league based on K% and 5th for left handed SP. 

The ERA is likely due to the Phillies horrendous defense. 

[Tryptamine]

They're going to have to trade for a starting pitcher sooner rather than later. Waiting until the deadline is going to be folly unless no one out there is willing to go early.

[cubfansince77]

6 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Ignore the ERA, Luzardo has been awesome this year. He's tied for the 9th best fWAR in the league, and has the 15th best xFIP. He's been the 15th best SP in the league based on K% and 5th for left handed SP. 

The ERA is likely due to the Phillies horrendous defense. 

That's fair I guess JR...I'm just going off how bad he was today which is probably short sighted on my part. Didn't know the Phils D was that bad. Now I do. 

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, cubfansince77 said:

That's fair I guess JR...I'm just going off how bad he was today which is probably short sighted on my part. Didn't know the Phils D was that bad. Now I do. 

You're good! It's easy for a game to get us. 

I just happened t be keeping an eye on him this year since we almost got him as a background thing. 

[cubfansince77]

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

They're going to have to trade for a starting pitcher sooner rather than later. Waiting until the deadline is going to be folly unless no one out there is willing to go early.

Couldn't agree more, sure would be nice to beat other contenders like the Tigers and Yanks who have similar needs to the punch. I just had that discussion on a Tigers message board (they're my 2nd favorite team) Tigers looking for a starter, a reliever and a right handed bat....similar to the Cubs needs. 

[UMFan83]

Sandy Alcantara with 5 ER in 6 IP tonight. I dunno I think I’m out on him unless he’s cheaper than what is being discussed. I have no doubt he’s fixable but he can’t be our big acquisition at this point. 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

Sandy Alcantara with 5 ER in 6 IP tonight. I dunno I think I’m out on him unless he’s cheaper than what is being discussed. I have no doubt he’s fixable but he can’t be our big acquisition at this point. 

Yeah I pretty much only want him if he and Cabrera are coming together as a package deal.

[NorthsideAvenger]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Sandy Alcantara with 5 ER in 6 IP tonight. I dunno I think I’m out on him unless he’s cheaper than what is being discussed. I have no doubt he’s fixable but he can’t be our big acquisition at this point. 

Yeah, Alcantara feels like an off-season acquistion not a mid-season trade. 

[Tryptamine]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Sandy Alcantara with 5 ER in 6 IP tonight. I dunno I think I’m out on him unless he’s cheaper than what is being discussed. I have no doubt he’s fixable but he can’t be our big acquisition at this point. 

Been there for weeks now. The supposed price tag is absurd for what is basically a reclamation project and the Cubs can't afford to do a reclamation project while they're chasing a division title. 

[Randall Simon]

10 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

You're good! It's easy for a game to get us. 

I just happened t be keeping an eye on him this year since we almost got him as a background thing. 

Luzardo has been excellent this year outside of 3 starts. He carried a 2.15 ERA into a May 31 start against Milw when he got pounded for 12 earned runs. Followed that up with 8 earned against the Jays. He's been solid since then until today. 

[Geographyhater8888]

On 7/4/2025 at 9:53 PM, Bertz said:

Yeah I pretty much only want him if he and Cabrera are coming together as a package deal.

Also need to know if the asking price for Cabrera is similar to Alcantara, who they’re not selling low on with another year of control and plenty of time to up his trade value. 

[Geographyhater8888]

On 7/4/2025 at 11:02 PM, Tryptamine said:

Been there for weeks now. The supposed price tag is absurd for what is basically a reclamation project and the Cubs can't afford to do a reclamation project while they're chasing a division title. 

Also, how different is the price for Cabrera and Alcantara? 

[Dfan25]

Edward Cabrera with another strong outing against the Brewers . With 3 years of control left via arbitration , price will be high .

I know Jesse Rogers said to keep our eyes on him a couple of weeks ago 

Edited July 7, 2025 by Dfan25

[Bertz]

Yeah I want Cabrera pretty bad.

I think my current favorite outcome for the deadline is Cabrera + Zac Gallen + Willi Castro. 

- Cabrera's the obvious big fish and would be here for a long time, so the hefty prospect price he'll inevitably cost should feel worth it for a good while

- Gallen's having a tough year, but his velo is fine and he does keep having occasional dominant outings.  He feels fixable, and if he's not it's not the end of the world because we added another starter.  His tough year should keep the price reasonable

- Adding two SPs is going to take a hefty chunk out of the farm, so I'd forego adding relief help.  Not that we couldn't always use more, but the current group is doing quite well as is.  And on top of that by adding both Cabrera and Gallen, you ensure both Brown and Horton are relief options at the end of the year, which should make up for that reliever we don't add via trade

[Bertz]

I had not noticed, but Charlie Morton has basically been back to peak form for like two months now.  And if you want an excuse to believe it's legit, his velo is up corresponding to that.  It's really a tale of 3 seasons:

First 4 Starts:

10.90 ERA (not a typo!), 5.82 xFIP, 93.3 MPH fastball

Banished to the bullpen (7 long relief outings and one spot start):

4.43 ERA, 4.07 xFIP, 94.3 MPH fastball

Back to the Rotation (7 starts):

2.97 ERA, 3.33 xFIP, 94.4 MPH fastball

So he's back in the rotation, dominating, and didn't lose any velo from his time relieving.

He CAN NOT be your only pitching addition, but if we add two SPs I'd be perfectly happy for Morton to be the lesser.

[squally1313]

3 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I had not noticed, but Charlie Morton has basically been back to peak form for like two months now.  And if you want an excuse to believe it's legit, his velo is up corresponding to that.  It's really a tale of 3 seasons:

First 4 Starts:

10.90 ERA (not a typo!), 5.82 xFIP, 93.3 MPH fastball

Banished to the bullpen (7 long relief outings and one spot start):

4.43 ERA, 4.07 xFIP, 94.3 MPH fastball

Back to the Rotation (7 starts):

2.97 ERA, 3.33 xFIP, 94.4 MPH fastball

So he's back in the rotation, dominating, and didn't lose any velo from his time relieving.

He CAN NOT be your only pitching addition, but if we add two SPs I'd be perfectly happy for Morton to be the lesser.

Yes please

[731.4life]

I would call Baltimore on Morton. I was surprised that he is actually playing baseball this season because I thought last year would be his last season with Atlanta.

I will still call Miami and take Alcantara. I know he's been bad, but with the pedigree that Jed and company have on pitchers, there's something in the tank that will be able to get him back. I do believe Miami should keep Cabrera and go with the Cabrera/Ryan Weathers combo.

Atlanta should be nuts telling people they're not wanting to trade Chris Sale, only for Chris Sale to land on the 60-Day IL days later.

I like Joe Ryan, Ober, Lopez, and Lugo. However, I like Miami's pitchers more.

[gflore34]

16 hours ago, Bertz said:

Yeah I want Cabrera pretty bad.

I think my current favorite outcome for the deadline is Cabrera + Zac Gallen + Willi Castro. 

- Cabrera's the obvious big fish and would be here for a long time, so the hefty prospect price he'll inevitably cost should feel worth it for a good while

- Gallen's having a tough year, but his velo is fine and he does keep having occasional dominant outings.  He feels fixable, and if he's not it's not the end of the world because we added another starter.  His tough year should keep the price reasonable

- Adding two SPs is going to take a hefty chunk out of the farm, so I'd forego adding relief help.  Not that we couldn't always use more, but the current group is doing quite well as is.  And on top of that by adding both Cabrera and Gallen, you ensure both Brown and Horton are relief options at the end of the year, which should make up for that reliever we don't add via trade

For me it would be Cabrera + Merrill Kelly + Eugenio Suárez and, I believe, this could happen without involvement of Cassie or Wiggins.  It may take all of Alcantara, Triantos, Long, a couple of arms, etc., I'm okay with that being the price.

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

For me it would be Cabrera + Merrill Kelly + Eugenio Suárez and, I believe, this could happen without involvement of Cassie or Wiggins.  It may take all of Alcantara, Triantos, Long, a couple of arms, etc., I'm okay with that being the price.

Cabrera is going to cost more than you are suggesting. You probably could get Kelly and Suarez without trading Cassie or Wiggins. But Cabrera is going to cost. Honestly I would be fine with what Bertz suggested, but might rather have Kelly than Gallen. Castro would be fine for me. 

[chibears55]

I know this is for SP but as far as a bullpen addition goes, If the Redsox who are now 3 games out of a WC spot fall further back by the deadline and decide to become sellers, you know who would be a nice addition to go with Palencia at the back end of the bullpen Aroldis Chapman, hes having a terrific season 53 Ks in 36 IP 1.25 ERA and 0.78 WHIP.  Being a LHer he'd be perfect fir what the Cubs need and he'd be a rental so it shouldn't cost must in prospects to get him.

Edited July 7, 2025 by chibears55