Chicago Cubs Suggested To Kick Tires on Acquiring Former Starting Pitcher

Could the Chicago Cubs look to bring back a familiar face via trade to bolster their pitching staff?

Apr 8, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs have gotten off to a solid start in the 2025 MLB regular season with a 12-9 record.

That is good enough to be in first place in the National League Central, just ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, who are 10-9.

But, if they are going to hold onto that spot in the standings, they need to find a way to fix the needs on their pitching staff.

Injuries and effectiveness have put manager Craig Counsell in a tough spot. He is without Javiar Assad and Justin Steele in the starting rotation and the bullpen has been inconsistent in the early going again.

It is the biggest need that has developed in the early going of the campaign and needs to be addressed to ensure the season does not go off the rails.

The Cubs at least have a nucleus to rely on in the bullpen with veteran Ryan Pressly, emerging star Porter Hodge and Julian Merryweather. Colin Rea has been excellent in multi-inning appearances as well.

Where Chicago really needs to find some help is for the rotation, which was a weakness before Steele went down with an elbow injury that will require season-ending surgery.

Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd have been excellent, but Ben Brown and Jameson Taillon have struggled. Rea could be stretched back out to handle a starting role, but adding some reinforcements would be in their best interest.

One player who Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has suggested as a potential solution to the team’s woes is Kyle Hendricks of the Los Angeles Angels.

He is someone that the Cubs know well, since he pitched the first 11 seasons of his MLB career with the franchise.

Through three starts with the Angels, Hendricks has a 4.20 ERA through 15 innings. He has walked five and struck out nine. The biggest improvement he has made thus far is limiting the number of hits allowed, as his H/9 of 7.8 would be his lowest mark since 2016, when he won the ERA title.

Opponents aren’t crushing the ball against him with an average exit velocity of 84.1 mph. He has done a great job of limiting hard-hit contact, with a 24.4% hard-hit rate, which would be the lowest allowed of his career.

While his start with Los Angeles is encouraging, if the Cubs wanted to have Hendricks as part of their rotation in 2025, they would have just re-signed him.

It is hard to envision them spending trade assets to bring him back into the mix, especially because it can be argued that he isn’t much of an upgrade over what Rea can provide the team.

If Chicago is going to make a trade, it should be for a bona fide ace that pushes their chips into the middle of the table more, taking advantage of the time they know Kyle Tucker will be on the roster for.