2 weeks Ago
The Chicago Cubs entered the season with questionable pitching depth both in the bullpen and the starting rotation. Despite the need, the Cubs were not in this winter on most of the top of the market names, many of whom wound up securing massive nine-figure deals Chicago was never going to entertain. Whether that strategy is right or wrong is up for debate, but to Jed Hoyer's credit, many of his bargain bin options are actually performing very well to start the year, including Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea .
This was not a deep staff however, and a season-ending elbow issue for left-handed ace Justin Steele was a brutal early-season hand the Cubs were dealt, especially with how well the offense has performed . Chicago suddenly looks the part of a contender, but the lack of top-end pitching will be what keeps that from happening. According to a new report however, the Cubs are already trying to address it.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score says Chicago is working the phones trying to make something happen, naming the obvious candidate of Sandy Alcantara as well as some other potential options. Pablo Lopez of the Minnesota Twins as well as the duo from the hated rival St. Louis Cardinals , Erick Fedde and Sonny Gray, were all named after Alcantara in terms of possibilities if the Cubs did not want to fork over the haul it would take to get the Miami Marlins superstar.
Chicago did make a trade this week when they acquired veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz from the Seattle Mariners , but Levine is clearly implying something bigger here when saying the Cubs are poking around the market. Expecting a major trade this early in the season is not something likely to actually go down over three months from the trade deadline, but it could be a sound strategy for Hoyer and company to start laying the groundwork and finding out what teams are looking for. There's still a ways to go before the major trade dominoes start falling, though if the hot start for Chicago continues, they will likely be major players when the time time comes to improve their roster with major deals.
This is a Cubs offense which is powerful enough -- or at least looks the part -- to make a potential championship run, but pitching is critical. Chicago may not be set to make a blockbuster this week or next. Clearly, however, they are very serious about winning this year with what could be a limited window and are finding out what certain guys are going to take to bring them to the Windy City.
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