The Chicago Cubs are reportedly still in the market for another starting pitcher. If the team can’t land one in free agency, there is a very appealing option available on the trade market.
Chicago’s winter business figures to be far from complete, and the team has been wheeling and dealing in the past week. Having shipped third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Houston Astros as part of a package for outfielder Kyle Tucker and offloading outfielder Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees, third base and starting pitching appear to remain the positions that the Cubs are focused on.
The Northsiders added starting pitcher Matthew Boyd earlier this offseason, but Bleacher Nation’s Brett Taylor has something bigger in mind: trading for Minnesota Twins staff ace Pablo Lopez.
The Twins are for sale and looking to cut costs. Lopez is not exactly breaking the bank, signed to a four-year, $73.5 million deal through 2027, with $21.75 owed to him per season going forward. But if Minnesota gives in to a rebuild, the Cubs have several shiny prospects to offer up in a trade offer.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday that “The Twins have listened on right-hander Pablo Lopez, and if free agent pitching prices remain stratospheric, perhaps they’ll go beyond the listening stage.”
The Cubs still have an impressive farm system, even after trading one of its best prospects — third baseman Cam Smith — to Houston in the Tucker deal.
Minnesota has a talented infield, but the player’s injury-prone ways over the past couple of seasons have put the Twins in a hole. With the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals, and even the Detroit Tigers having passed the team by last season, Minnesota could decide that the organization’s cost-cutting might as well lead to a full rebuild while team ownership remains in flux.
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