Cubs Reportedly Eyeing Notable Starters From Royals and Diamondbacks

The Chicago Cubs are preparing to buy ahead of the trade deadline.

For weeks, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has discussed their potential target areas, listing starting pitching and bullpen help as their top priorities.

As one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, it makes sense why those two position groups would be at the top of their wish list, with all contenders needing as much pitching depth as possible.

But it wasn't exactly clear how aggressive the Cubs were going to be based on their past actions.

However, recent reporting has indicated that Chicago could be looking to make some splash moves, potentially going after players who have multiple years of club control remaining instead of only pursuing rentals.

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That doesn't mean Hoyer won't add some pieces on expiring deals if he believes they can help them win in 2025, though.

And according to Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required), they are keeping tabs on two pitchers from the Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks.

"The Cubs will be paying attention to how certain bubble teams perform coming out of the All-Star break, knowing that Merrill Kelly and Seth Lugo would be intriguing fits if the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals, respectively, elect to reload for the future," the insiders reported.

Both would be solid additions.

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Merrill Kelly has posted a 3.41 ERA and 144 ERA+ across 19 starts, striking out 107 batters in 111 innings pitched with just 29 walks. That level of arm would be a huge upgrade for the Cubs in their rotation, giving them another front-end starter to pair with Shota Imanaga.

And since he's a rental, it shouldn't cost Chicago a ton to acquire him if the Diamondbacks do decide to trade away some of their best assets.

Seth Lugo could be back with the Cubs in 2026 since he has a player option for $15 million, so he might cost a bit more to land.

However, coming off his first All-Star selection in 2024 where he finished runner-up in the AL Cy Young Award voting after posting a 3.00 ERA and 137 ERA+, the right-hander is putting together an even better season with a 2.67 ERA and 155 ERA+ through 17 starts.

Based on that, Lugo could be the preferred option even if it's not a guarantee that he won't hit the open market after the campaign.

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These two will be players to keep an eye on in the coming weeks if their respective teams falter immediately after the All-Star break prior to the trade deadline.

With this duo circled by Chicago, there's a chance one of them will be playing on the North Side starting in August.

For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.