Cubs Prospect Could Be Key to Landing Pirates’ All‑Star Ace

The next few weeks are going to be incredibly important for the Chicago Cubs as they look to acquire some starting pitching help ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

It is the only weak area that currently exists on the team in large part because Justin Steele was lost to a season-ending injury.

Without him in the mix, there is a lot of pressure on Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd to carry the load for the rotation. Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, Colin Rea and Ben Brown have all underwhelmed.

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While Imanaga and Boyd have combined for a bWAR of 3.5 across 29 starts, the other four have a bWAR of -1.7 combined through July 9.

Addressing the starting pitching concerns is imperative for a Cubs team that hasn’t been able to run away from the competition in the National League Central, with the Milwaukee Brewers sitting only 1.5 games behind them.

Chicago has played well this season, mostly on the back of an excellent offense.

If they want to keep pace with other contenders, such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros, who all have at least one bona fide ace, if not multiple, they need to make some additions.

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One of the players who they have been connected to is Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Keller was an All-Star in 2023 and has shown the talent to perform like a front end starter for stretches. 

He has consistently performed better than his record would indicate, as that is often the case for pitchers on a losing team; for example, consider his teammate Paul Skenes, who is a Cy Young contender despite having a 4-7 record.

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His numbers may not show it, but Keller has been elite in some facets this season, producing a +11 Pitching Run Value per Baseball Savant, which is in the 90th percentile.

Adding him to the mix would be a huge upgrade for the Cubs, who might have a leg up on the competition to acquire him.

Over at The Athletic (subscription required), Jim Bowden was asked who the best, young major-league-ready position player the Pirates would be able to get in return for their All-Star starter.

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His response: Owen Caissie.

A top prospect in the Chicago system, Caissie has been putting on an incredible display of power recently at Triple-A Iowa.

He is the exact kind of player Pittsburgh is going to be targeting in trade talks, someone who can immediately be inserted into the Big League lineup and help what has been a middling offense for years.

Caissie seemingly has nothing left to prove at Triple-A, where he has a .278/.380/.507 slash line with 37 home runs, 49 doubles, five triples, 116 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 199 games and 866 plate appearances.

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