Why Pitching Should Be the Cubs’ Top Priority at Trade Deadline
There have been several things that have kept the Cubs from being their very best.
One of those is pitching woes and injuries.
Now I have been adamant that it’s hard to predict pitching, just ’cause it’s usually so volatile, and injuries will just happen given the nature of it.
But the very best teams are stacked with capable arms all throughout their rotation and bullpen.
Cubs Injury Woes
It started at the very beginning of the year with Justin Steele trying to work his way back from his 2025 injury. Steele suffered a setback in early May, and now it’s a question mark whether he can get back. Cade Horton, slated to be the Cubs’ ace, is building off a promising season last year, gets Tommy John and will miss the rest of the season. Jameson Taillon and Edward Cabrera have missed portions of the season for various issues. Daniel Palencia has been on the IL two separate times.
That doesn’t include Caleb Thielbar, Matthew Boyd, Hunter Harvey, and Ben Brown, amongst a couple of others. Ken Rosenthal, Senior Writer at The Athletic, made it clear that the Cubs’ attention is obviously in the pitching market
Ken Rosenthal:
“We know what they’re going to be looking for at the deadline, it’s obvious (pitching)….If the Cubs feel they can win the division, possibly get a bye, then, okay, maybe they go hard (at the deadline). If they don’t, if they’re essentially playing only for a Wild Card … then, they will be more restrained in their approach. They clearly need bullpen help … and also, of course, they’re going to need help in their rotation.”
Now, it might be a captain obvious thing from Rosenthal here, but obviously, the whole world knows the Cubs need reinforcements in both the rotation and pen. But it’s who they can target that I wanna bring to a focus.
Controllable Arms
The one thing that every MLB team is on the hunt for is pitching. The best teams can develop pitching better than most organizations. The Brewers, Guardians, and Rays are the prime examples of teams that can do it better than most.
Unfortunately, the Cubs still are lagging behind, and their rotation next year could look vastly different.
Shota Imanaga, Taillon, and Boyd lead a list of candidates who are in the final year of their contracts, and if you’re Imanaga, it is on the qualifying offer. So the Cubs desperately need to find starting pitching not only for the rest of the season but also next season. So the Cubs need to look for whatever they can to get a pitcher or pitchers, because you can’t always rely on the offseason to get deals done.
What to Look For
The MLB Trade Deadline is on August 3rd, and you have already seen the Cubs trade for David Peterson. You have seen the Twins and Blue Jays make a trade. But the closer we get, the more we will see the rumors and action heat up.
The Cubs’ actions will tell us how they are shaping the rest of the season and next season’s outlook. That is the biggest thing that will help the Cubs, I believe. The farm system is loaded with position players, and generally, the Cubs do have a good offense.
Chicago is missing those upper-caliber arms, and the deadline and draft are where you can make up for what you’re potentially missing.
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