Cubs Could Trade for Starting Pitching Way Before MLB Trade Deadline Hits
The Chicago Cubs will be aggressive at this year's trade deadline, but they might not wait until then to make a big move.
Advertisement
Particularly with Justin Steele out for the season, the Cubs need another starting pitcher (or two) to solidify their very real chances of making a deep, October run.
Shota Imanaga has been sidelined since early May with a hamstring injury, but he is expected to return to the team sometime next week. Still, it feels like a matter of when, not if, Chicago trades for another starting pitcher.
Here is what Bruce Levine of 670 The Score had to say:
When asked if Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcántara was a potential option, Levine replied, 'No. More likely a guy that we can't all identify, but that's a good, young veteran pitcher.'
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
One possible non-Alcántara arm is his Marlins teammate, Edward Cabrera. At 27 years old, Cabrera fits Levine's 'young, veteran' label with 353 MLB innings under his belt. He has been solid this season, with a 3.81 ERA, a 3.90 FIP, and 63 strikeouts to 26 walks over 59 innings.
Advertisement
Cabrera will not be an unrestricted free agent until after the 2028 season and would provide the Cubs not only with another starting pitcher for this summer, but beyond. There is no telling how Steele will return from elbow surgery, and Jameson Taillon (33), Matthew Boyd (34), and Colin Rea (34) are not getting any younger.
Since Cabrera represents more than a rental, Chicago would probably have to sacrifice a top-10 pitching prospect such as Brandon Birdsell (No. 7) or Jaxon Wiggins (No. 9). The Cubs also have young, righties in Cade Horton and Ben Brown, either of whom could move into a long relief role.
Regardless of whether Cabrera is Chicago's target or not, it appears that a trade is coming sooner rather than later.
Related: Cubs Reportedly Inquired With Red Sox About Rafael Devers Trade
Related: Cubs 'Quietly Preparing' for Major Wrigley Field Announcement
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
8 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Shaw sac fly in 10th lifts Cubs over Guardians 1-0, deals Cleveland 7th straight loss
CHICAGO — Rookie Matt Shaw's deep sacrifice fly to center scored Nico Hoerner from third in the 10th inning, giving the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday night. Hoerner, the automatic runner, advanced to third on Michael Busch's groundout. He trotted home on Shaw's liner that Lane Thomas caught in front of the ivy at Wrigley Field .
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Guardians' Luis Ortiz Under Investigation in Potential Betting Scandal
Guardians' Luis Ortiz Under Investigation in Potential Betting Scandal originally appeared on Athlon Sports. While the Cleveland Guardians continue to slump, riding on a six-game losing streak entering Wednesday, they will be without starting pitcher Luis Ortiz after his name emerged as a suspect in an MLB betting scandal. Advertisement Ortiz is under investigation by the MLB after a betting-integrity firm flagged multiple scenarios of the starter's pitches receiving unusual betting activity. Gambling firm IC360 sent multiple alerts in June to sportsbooks that involved Luis Ortiz's first pitches of specific innings. The first instance took place in his start against the Seattle Mariners on June 15 in the bottom of the second inning, where Ortiz opened the inning with a slider that was an obvious ball. Another alert took place on June 27, happening in Ortiz's first pitch of the top of the third inning in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals. He through another slider that was even further out of the zone. Advertisement Ortiz was pulled from his scheduled start on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs and will be placed on "non-disciplinary leave" through the All-Star break. The leave could be extended if the investigation remains open. Cleveland made a statement on the situation on Thursday. "The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation," the team said. "The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league's confidential investigative process." Advertisement Luis Ortiz has the second-most innings pitched for the Guardians this season with 88.2. Through 16 starts, he has a 4-9 record, 4.36 ERA, and 1.38 WHIP while striking out 96 batters. Cleveland will now have left-handed relief pitcher Joey Castillo step in for Ortiz in Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs. while the Guardians try to stay relevant in the AL Wild Card race. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
MLB logo patch from Clayton Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout jersey to be put into a baseball card
Clayton Kershaw became just the 20th pitcher in Major League history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts on Wednesday night, and on Thursday Topps announced that the MLB logo patch from the back of the jersey he wore as he did it will be going into a one-of-a-kind baseball card. The card is part of the Topps Dynasty Black brand, which began with cards bearing memorabilia from the game where Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th home run and stole his 50th base last season to become the first member of the 50/50 club. The Kershaw MLB logo patch card will be autographed and a redemption card for it will be sent in a randomly selected order of the print-to-order Topps Now card made to commemorate Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout. BREAKING: The game-worn MLB Logoman from Clayton Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout is going into a 1/1 Dynasty Black trading card. One lucky collector who buys the Topps Now base card will receive this 1/1 card with their order. — Topps (@Topps) July 3, 2025 League logo patches are arguably the piece of memorabilia put into cards that is most coveted by collectors. NBA, NFL, and MLB cards bearing these patches have sold for millions, including the Topps Dynasty Black card with the MLB logo patch from Ohtani's 50/50 game-used pants that sold at auction for $1,067,500 in March. That was nearly double the second most expensive Ohtani card ever. Ohtani's first million dollar card! Last night the 2024 Topps Shohei Ohtani Black Dynasty '50/50' Relic 1/1 sold for $1,067,500, a record price for any Ohtani card — Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) March 30, 2025 Although this will only be the fourth Topps Dynasty Black card made to date (the previous three all included pieces of Ohtani's pants and batting gloves from the 50/50 game), the series has already established itself as the most exclusive in the sports card industry, since each card includes pieces of hall-of-fame-worthy items from historic milestone events. Advertisement Kershaw's most expensive publicly sold card to date was his 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Autographs Red Refractor (of which only five were made) with a BGS Pristine 10 card grade and 10 autograph grade, which went for $123,221.22 at auction in November of last year. This Topps Dynasty Black card is almost certain to sell for multiples of that if it reaches the secondary market. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
