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Cubs Linked to Orioles $13 Million Starter

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jacob Mountz | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 6:10 PM ET

This season, the Chicago Cubs have gone all in on their elusive World Series aspirations. With the Kyle Tucker trade in the rearview mirror, the team has kept their foot on the gas, racing to the top of the NL Central with a comfortable four-game lead. However, the Cubs are suffering from a key weakness: an injury-prone pitching staff.

Injuries to Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, and Justin Steele have weighed heavily on the team’s rotation. The Chicago pitching staff owns a 3.84 ERA as a whole, placing them 18 ^th for that stat in MLB. While Imanaga is expected back soon, Assad will still be out for a while, and Steele is done for the year. With the Cubs on the hunt for a solid mid-rotation arm, one analyst might have found a satisfactory solution.

In a recent article, Sports Illustrated’s Kyle Morton proposed targeting the Orioles’ offseason international signing, Tomoyuki Sugano. Morton wrote this on the subject:

“The outlook long-term [for the Cubs] is good, but if [Kyle] Tucker leaves, it’s hard to see Chicago being more of a World Series contender than they are at this very moment. That means that [Jed] Hoyer should be aggressive in filling the void Steele has left in the rotation, and possibly the best option available is Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.

“Sugano, a 35-year-old rookie in the midst of his first season in the United States, has been a revelation in the midst of a nightmare campaign in Baltimore.”

One of Japan’s top aces, Sugano owns a 3.23 ERA with 35 strikeouts in his rookie year. He has been effective in limiting walks and going deep into games. Since his contract is only for one year, chances are high that the struggling Orioles will trade him.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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