The Chicago Cubs' season has gone as planned, outside of the fact that Justin Steele will miss the remainder of the campaign.
The Cubs have played excellent baseball, going 11-7 and sitting in first place in the National League Central. Taking two of three against the best team in baseball over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs are hopeful that things will continue to go their way.
However, losing Steele was a horrible outcome, as the left-hander is one of the better pitchers in Major League Baseball.
If the Cubs want to continue to be the team they hoped to be entering the season, a trade must be made for a starter.
Newsweek's Zach Pressnell proposed a deal for them to land one in the form of Nick Martinez of the Cincinnati Reds. His proposal would move Kevin Alcantara, Fernando Cruz, and Jack Neely to the Reds.
"The Cincinnati Reds have a lot of talented starting pitchers. Carson Spiers and Andrew Abbott have looked good at the back of Cincinnati's rotation. Rhett Lowder will return from injury soon, and prospects like Chase Petty could be in the big leagues soon, too.
"The Reds don't need to trade Nick Martinez, but if the Cubs get desperate enough, they could make a deal happen. A trade that sends Kevin Alcántara, Fernando Cruz and Jack Neely to the Reds would add Martinez to the Cubs' rotation," Pressnell wrote.
Martinez is a decent arm, but has struggled early on in the campaign. He's been a reliever for much of his career, but is working out of the rotation exclusively to start the year. He's posted a 6.06 ERA and has struck out 15 hitters in 16 1/3 innings.
