Rosenthal: The Chicago Cubs Are “Canvassing the Market” For a Starting Pitcher

[Matthew Lenz]

With the seventh best odds to win the World Series, per Fangrpahs, it's no secret the Chicago Cubs are going to be buyers at the trade deadline.

On Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Cubs are "canvassing the market" for  starting pitcher.

The Cubs current rotation rank in the bottom third of baseball with a 4.32 ERA and a 4.47 FIP and a lowly 14.4% strikeout-minus-walk rate. Some of that poor production can be attributed to injuries as Shota Imanaga (returning Thursday), Javier Assad, and Justin Steele. Just earlier this week, the club sent Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa to rediscover some of the early season success he was having.

Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera are big names on the market that will come with a heavy price. Who else should the Cubs kick the tires on? Join the conversation in the comments!

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[muntjack]

I really like the idea of Cabrera. I think he still has #1 potential. A package for both would certainly sting, but could go a long way in fixing things here. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

27 minutes ago, muntjack said:

I really like the idea of Cabrera. I think he still has #1 potential. A package for both would certainly sting, but could go a long way in fixing things here. 

I thought it would be one or the other. If the Cubs want to acquire both, I'd be cool with that.

[Bertz]

On 6/25/2025 at 10:26 AM, muntjack said:

I really like the idea of Cabrera. I think he still has #1 potential. A package for both would certainly sting, but could go a long way in fixing things here. 

I really love the idea of Edward Cabrera as one of two starters, with the other guy being someone you could more confidently have start a playoff game this year.  I think it does a few things:

- Cabrera is showing some signs of breaking out, but if that ends up not panning iut you don't suffer the massive opportunity cost of making him your only guy this deadline

- With three years of control after this, he's a long term enough piece that you can feel comfortable paying the prospect price even if there's not a deep playoff run this year

- By acquiring two starters, you're insulating yourself from another injury re-inserting Colin Rea into the rotation

- Cabrera's current weakness is the times through the order penalty.  In the playoffs he should be a potent weapon shortened up to 2-3 inning stints

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think Cabrera + playoff starter is probably going to be prohibitively expensive, because Cabrera is likely to be more expensive than the playoff starter, who is unlikely to be particularly cheap.