The Chicago Cubs had what most would consider a solid offseason, but they could have undoubtedly added more.
With Kyle Tucker added to the lineup, the Cubs look stronger offensively entering the 2025 season than they were in their 83-win 2024 campaign. But with all deference to new additions Matthew Boyd and Ryan Pressly, the pitching staff didn’t get much of a facelift.
It’s not as though the Cubs have a bad rotation. It’s a group headlined by lefties Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, and it ranked sixth in baseball with a 3.77 ERA last year. But in comparison to the National League’s top contenders, it’s lacking in top-end talent.
Perhaps the trade deadline will be the time for the Cubs to rectify that shortage of star power.
In a recent article, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer as a top trade deadline fit for the Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, who Rymer also named one of the top 10 “most likely” trade candidates of the 2025 season.
“This is a ‘give it time’ situation,” Rymer wrote. “The Marlins aren’t going anywhere in 2025, and Alcantara has plenty of trade value to reclaim.
“Even if Alcantara is merely the pitcher he was in 2023, when he had a 4.14 ERA, he’ll stand to be a valuable trade chip. If he returns to ace form, that much more so. Potential Landing Spots: New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves.”
Alcantara’s five-year, $56 million extension runs through 2026, with a $21 million club option for 2027. His base salary jumped from $9 million last year to $17 million this year, so Miami may look to get out from under his salary while recouping prospects to jump-start their rebuild.
The 29-year-old can be the game’s preeminent workhorse at his peak, as he showed while leading Major League Baseball with 228 2/3 innings pitched and six complete games in 2022. He put up a 2.28 ERA and unanimously won Cy Young honors.
The Cubs will keep a watchful eye on Alcantara early in the season, as will all prospective trade deadline buyers. If he returns to form, every contending team will be all over the lowly Marlins to try and pull off a trade.
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