Cubs Should Aggressively Address Starting Pitching Need Ahead of Deadline

The Chicago Cubs have consistently been one of the best teams in baseball throughout the 2025 MLB regular season.

They possess a championship-caliber lineup, capable of scoring runs against even the strongest pitching staffs.

Anchoring that group is breakout center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has emerged as a National League All-Star and MVP candidate.

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Kyle Tucker, who was acquired in a blockbuster offseason trade from the Houston Astros, is providing the team with everything they could have hoped for and more, setting the tone for his teammates, who are following suit.

Catcher Carson Kelly is having a career year, along with designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, as all of the positional players are getting in on the party.

All the Cubs are missing from being legitimate contenders in more people’s eyes is a little bit more starting pitching.

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The loss of Justin Steele hurts and Shota Imanaga has been sidelined for a chunk of the campaign as well.

Veterans Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon have helped keep things afloat, and star prospect Cade Horton is coming into his own. But, the rest of the rotation, outside of Imanaga, has been shaky.

Adding a starting pitcher ahead of the deadline is imperative for Chicago.

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The question is, how aggressive will ownership allow the front office to be?

After slashing payroll this winter, will Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins be given the leeway to add players to the mix ahead of the MLB trade deadline?

Depending on how much ownership is willing to spend will determine where in the market they go shopping.

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Adding a frontline starter such as Sandy Alcantara or Zac Gallen would drastically improve their World Series odds. Alcantara is a former NL Cy Young Award winner and Gallen has three top 10 finishes in his career.

If they shop in a lower tier, Zach Eflin of the Baltimore Orioles or Gallen’s rotation mate, Merrill Kelly, would both be nice additions.

They may not be aces, but adding one of those two alongside Imanaga, Boyd and Taillon would give the team some solid depth heading into the stretch run of the regular season with hopefully a deep postseason run to follow.

Of that quartet, Alcantara is the only one who isn’t an impending free agent, which will drastically impact the asking price in a return package.

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