Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs Both in Talks to Acquire Pair of Elite Pitchers in Trades

The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs are reportedly in competition with one another on the trade market. Both teams are looking at acquiring Tyler Glasnow and Shane Bieber.
Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs Both in Talks to Acquire Pair of Elite Pitchers in Trades
Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs Both in Talks to Acquire Pair of Elite Pitchers in Trades /

One day after the St. Louis Cardinals signed Cy Young finalist Sonny Gray to a three-year deal, their National League Central division rivals are apparently in competition to get their own ace pitchers.

Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com:

The Cubs and Reds are among the teams active in trade conversations for Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow, sources confirm. 

This dovetails what we heard yesterday about the Reds having interest in Glasnow. The Cubs have also been known to be in the market for high-end talent in general, having been linked to Shohei Ohtani this offseason.

With regards to Glasnow, he's 30-years-old and is coming off a season in which he went 10-7 for the Tampa Bay Rays. He made 21 starts after battling injury at the beginning of the year. He owned a 3.53 ERA.

One of the best talents in baseball, he has battled injury throughout his career and comes with a degree of risk. Lifetime, he's 30-27 with a 3.89 ERA. He made 11 starts in the pandemic 2020 season, which was a full workload, but he's only made 15 starts or more once in his career - last year.

He's headed into the last year of his contract and while that's an expensive $25 million, it's not a long-term commitment.

Bieber, 28, won the Cy Young in the 2020 season and is under team control through 2024 as well. He's coming off a year in which he went 6-6 for the Guardians. He had a 3.80 ERA. Lifetime, he's 60-32 with a 3.27.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.