Former Cubs Standout Pitches Gem, Begins Journey Back to Relevance

The Chicago Cubs were at the centerpiece this offseason of what was the biggest trade of the winter when they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros.

In return for a superstar the likes of Tucker, it was never going to be a measly package being sent away, but of the three players shipped out of town there were certainly varying levels of how much fans were going to miss them.

The centerpiece at the time was third baseman Isaac Paredes, though as spring training went on and Cam Smith instantly became the top prospect in the Astros organization along with a ridiculous camp that saw him make the roster, Cubs fans immediately freaked out that they had dealt away a potential franchise player for one guaranteed season of Tucker.

For as much as sending Paredes and Smith away stung though, the afterthought of the deal was 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski.

In three years with Chicago after he was acquired in a trade with the New York Yankees, Wesneski delivered an overall mixed bag of results.

In 68 appearances including 22 starts, he posted an ERA of 3.93 and WHIP of 1.168 with 183 strikeouts in 190 innings.

Never staying in the Major Leagues long enough to find a real groove as a big leaguer, Wesneski was seen as expendable following a 2024 season which again started in Triple-A.

Though the flashes were there, the Cubs clearly did not have an issue sending him in the trade to Houston in order for things to come together and them to land Tucker.

However, now it's looking like Chicago may have made an oversight as Wesneski continues to find his groove now that he is with the Astros and seemingly fully converted to a starter.

On Sunday afternoon -- which also just so happened to line up with the Cubs announcement that left-hander Justin Steele is going to miss the entire rest of the season -- Wesneski threw a career outing.

In six innings, Wesneski gave up five hits and three earned runs, but he finished with a career high 10 strikeouts along with zero walks.

So with Chicago potentially in dire need of starting pitching, the supposed throw in piece of the trade is looking like he could help the Cubs tremendously had they insisted on holding onto him.

Unfortunately, it will never be known what Wesneski could have been with Chicago if they kept him, but the Cubs will have to weather the storm and have other players step up in Steele's absence.

Every strikeout Wesneski records moving forward though is going to absolutely sting moving forward the rest of the way without Steele.

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