Chicago Cubs Must Fix Pitching Issue, Is Blockbuster Trade on Horizon?
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The argument could be made that the Chicago Cubs are underwhelming this season. That's putting it mildly. After a hot start, they've cooled off and in terms of their pitching rotation, it's as cold as a brick of ice.
An abysmal performance from Jameson Taillon and a less-than-stellar outing for Justin Steele in the weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies highlighted some massive flaws. Taillon especially after allowing two home runs and including a grand slam in their 12-3 loss on Saturday.
Steele and Marcus Stroman are the co-aces for the Cubs and the club would be in a horrendous state on the mound. Would it be in Chicago's best interest to make a trade for a starting pitcher who can replace the poor production from Taillon?
Two names come to the top of the pile: Chicago White Sox pitchers Lance Lynn and Dylan Cease.
Let's look into Lynn first. In 2022, he posted a 2.52 earned runs average with an 89-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also had a 3.00 ERA in the World Baseball Classic over nine innings pitched. But he had a slow start in 2023: sitting with 7.16 ERA through April.
But the 36-year-old right-hander showed signs of growth in his club's sweep against the Kansas City Royals. Lynn allowed two runs in six innings and was his sixth quality start. He struck out six and walked two. A much better performance.
Lynn came to the White Sox back in 2020 in a deal with the Texas Rangers and bolstered a solid rotation that the OTHER Chicago team was in the process of rebuilding.
So why Lynn? Well, he brings veteran leadership, which while not something Chicago lacks, never hurts. Pitching, both the bullpen and rotation have a BAD ERA. On the 2-7 road trip, they have a 7.51 ERA overall (9.10 from the bullpen and 6.45 for the rotation). Lynn is not looking much better but compared to Taillon (0-3, 8.10 ERA), he's not likely to make things worse.
Moving to his teammate Cease, he's one of the best pitchers in the game. He was a second-place finish in Cy Young voting last year after compiling an almost unbelievable 227 strikeouts over 184 innings. Cease is the stronger (and younger) of the two pitchers mentioned in trade rumors.
The 27-year-old has a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 4.78 with 57 strikeouts over 52.2 innings pitched. He's one of two aces in the White Sox rotation and while not outrageous, it's possible they could deal him to the Cubs. The last high-level ace the White Sox had (Chris Sale) was traded to spawn a rebuild. So it's possible.
Acquiring Cease would be the better of the two moves. He's an easy choice to replace Taillon on the starting rotation and would give the Cubs three potential aces in their hand (Stroman, Steele and Cease). Granted, Cease still has two more seasons of control on his contract. But the Cubs could offer the White Sox the prospects they need, like like Brennan Davis or Cade Horton, to finish their rebuild.
It'll be easier to take Lynn away from the White Sox but in terms of longevity, Cease would be the better option.
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