Cubs Named Best Trade Destination for Unlikely Marlins Starting Pitcher

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the best teams in baseball throughout the 2025 MLB regular season, cementing themselves as legitimate playoff contenders.

If they want to remain atop the National League Central, where they held a three-game lead heading into play on May 30, they need to be aggressive on the trade market looking to address some areas of the team that have not been producing up to par.

The biggest need for the Cubs right now is on the mound.

Their pitching staff, both in the rotation and bullpen, needs some reinforcements because of injuries and underwhelming performance, with Genesis Cabrera the most recent addition.

A need existed for a front end starter before Justin Steele was lost for the season to an injury. Shota Imanaga is also currently on the injured list, testing the team’s starting pitching depth.

Chicago should not wait to find an upgrade for their rotation, since the St. Louis Cardinals are showing no signs of slowing down and the team is overreliant on an incredibly productive offense at this point.

One team that the Cubs could match up for in a trade is the Miami Marlins, who have former NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara to dangle in trade talks.

However, Alcantara has not come close to replicating that kind of production and it is hard to envision any contender taking a shot on him, especially with the asking price likely still incredibly high.

The Cubs Should Target Ryan Weathers in Trade With Marlins

Where the Cubs should be looking to get a deal done with the Marlins is in exchange for Ryan Weathers, who has been their most productive starting pitcher to this point.

A first-round pick in 2018 by the San Diego Padres, he is only 25 years old, making him someone that Miami could opt to build around as a foundational piece to their pitching staff, especially since he is under team control for three more seasons after 2025.

Alas, that isn’t normally how the Marlins operate, which is why Allen Settle of YardBarker has named Chicago the best destination for the left-handed pitcher.

“In many ways, Weathers has emerged as Miami’s de facto ace. His improved fastball velocity has allowed the former top prospect to break out in a major way. The Marlins could retain the 25-year-old as a foundational piece of their rebuild, but president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has a track record of flipping established talent for prospect capital,” he wrote.

He has dominated in three starts thus far in 2025, recording a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings, building off of a strong performance he had in 2024 with a 3.63 ERA across 86.2 innings.

Given his youth and pedigree, Weathers is the perfect trade target for Chicago, whose long-term outlook on the mound isn’t as clear as it is with their wealth of the young positional players in the Big Leagues and the minor league system.

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