Cubs Trade Talks Picking Up One Month from Deadline

The Chicago Cubs currently sit in first place in the National League Central, but have been sliding as of late. This is largely due to their starting pitching. As a team, they have given up 54 runs in their last six games. Jed Hoyer, Chicago’s President of Baseball Operations, has made it clear that the Cubs will be targeting pitching via trade. This could even come as soon as this week. But what is the reason the Cubs are so desperate for new pitching?

Cubs Trade Talks Intensifying Amid Pitching Woes

Chicago’s Starting Pitching Troubles

The Cubs’ pitching issues started early in the season when Justin Steele was ruled out for the year. Then, on May 4th, Shota Imanaga suffered a hamstring strain. He has been out ever since, but will make his return this week. When Imanaga got hurt, the hardships started. Since May 5th, the Cubs’ starters have a 5.06 ERA, ranking them 27th in MLB over that time frame.

The reason this hasn’t been as big a problem as it seems is because their offense has been so good. This is how they have stayed in first place in the NL Central, even holding the title of best record in the National League for a brief period. Unfortunately, their pitching is finally starting to slow them down as they have lost 5 of their last 6 games. They even lost three games scoring seven, six, and seven runs respectively.

It has been a looming setback all year that they are finally addressing. So, what are the Cubs doing to try to resolve the issues they have in their rotation?

The Cubs’ Top Trade Targets

The biggest developing story as of late is a duo of Miami Marlins pitchers that could be on the trade block. This duo consists of 27-year-old Edward Cabrera and 29-year-old Sandy Alcántara. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the Cubs are already “making inquiries on Miami Marlins right-handers Sandy Alcántara and Edward Cabrera, among many others.” While this news isn’t shocking, it is coming sooner than expected.

Edward Cabrera is currently in his fifth year and has been solid. He is 2-2 on the season with a 3.81 ERA. In his last five games, he has put up a 1.46 ERA along with 30 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings. Sandy Alcántara is more interesting. He boasts a 6.69 ERA this season with a 4-8 W-L. Even though these are not good numbers, there is still hope for Alcántara. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 2022 but sat out the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. Additionally, he has four quality starts and a 2.74 ERA in his last four starts. Either of these guys would be great for the Cubs to take a chance on to bolster their rotation.

Another hot topic involving pitching and the Cubs is Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller. Bruce Levine and Bob Nightengale report that the Cubs and Pirates have talked about possibly trading Mitch Keller.

Mitch Keller has had a very weird year thus far. He has a 4.02 ERA with a 1-10 W-L. No, that is not a typo. While a 4.02 ERA isn’t very good, he has gotten some of the least run support in his starts out of any pitcher in the league. Keller is 29 years old and has hovered around a 4.00 ERA in all seven of his years in the league. He has been with the Pirates all seven of those years, so he has never had the strongest offense behind him. If he could eliminate the blow-up outings, getting paired with the Cubs’ explosive offense could give them a great option to make their rotation stronger.