Report: Cubs Could Trade From MLB Roster to Land Starting Pitcher
The Chicago Cubs could use an established MLB bat to land a controllable starting pitcher from the Seattle Mariners ahead of the trade deadline.
Video Transcript
Sam Phelan here with the Cubs Roundtable.
The MLB trade deadline is approaching, and the Cubs might trade from their MLB roster to land the starting pitcher that they need.
There's no question starting pitching needs to be the focus for the Cubs.
They've already made two trades for pitchers.
Neither moves the needle.
Aaron Savali, David Peterson, no.
The Cubs have to do better than that.
You're fifty-seven and forty-five, and if you have any chance of tracking down the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, if you have any chance of making noise in the postseason in a loaded NL, you have to do better than Boyd, Imanaga, Peterson, Taillon, Raya as your starting rotation.
Cubs fans want the team to take a big swing, and rightfully so.
A perfect trade target is starting to emerge, and the Cubs are being rumored to have interest in right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners.
A recent report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Salmon of The Athletic says the Mariners are open to moving Hancock in their search for a right-handed hitter, and that the Cubs are a team interested.
But things are a bit complicated because the Mariners were half a game, out of the AL West right now, and they were one game away from going to the World Series in two thousand twenty-five.
They don't intend on waving the white flag and giving up and trading Hancock for prospects.
Yes, Seattle could try to get a young player who helps the team in the future, but if they're trading from their surplus of starting pitching right now, they want MLB assets to try to help them make a run at the postseason in a weak AL and a weak AL West.
Right-handed hitting is what they covet, and the word on the street is that it could be outfielder Seiya Suzuki or utility man Matt Shaw headlining a deal.
Both players, of course, carry different levels of value for each team.
Suzuki is the better hitter.
Eight thirty-seven OPS, seventeen home runs, fifty-three RBIs.
He would leave a bigger hole in the Cubs lineup, but he's also on an expiring contract.
He's headed for free agency, and he doesn't help the Mariners long term.
He also isn't a huge long-term loss for the Cubs.
Shaw, on the other hand, is currently on the IL with a left hand sprain.
Yes, he's coming back soon, but even when he's played, seven thirty-seven OPS, doesn't get regular playing time, but he is still just twenty-four years old and figures to be a part of the team's long-term future should they hold onto him.
It's unclear which bat the Mariners covet more.
It's unclear if the Cubs are open to trading either one.
The on-paper fit does seem to make a lot of sense, especially because the Cubs may need to add more than one starting pitcher.
Adding Hancock to the rotation gives the Cubs a capable arm and a controllable arm, giving them a guy who's under club control through twenty-thirty, but also allowing them to move MLB assets for one pitcher and move prospects for another.
So if the Cubs wanna go in on Tarik Skubal or Jose Soriano or Reed Detmers or another big arm to put the twenty twenty-six team in the best position possible to contend, maybe the option for Jed Hoyer is dealing one of your MLB bats for Emerson Hancock and then using your prospect capital to get that second piece.
Hoyer has options, but he truly needs to be aggressive and take advantage of the opportunity in front of them at the upcoming MLB trade deadline.
