Ideal Cubs Starting Pitching Target Named Top Trade Chip Ahead of Deadline

Will the Chicago Cubs make another trade to strengthen the rotation this season?

Nick Ziegler | Apr 7, 2025

Apr 2, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo (58) pumps his fist as he walks off the feild during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have been playing some good baseball of late with the team surging after a tough start to the campaign.

Despite the slow start to the campaign, the Cubs are rolling now and in first place in the National League Central.

Coming into the year, the expectation for the team was to win their division and snap a somewhat lengthy playoff drought. So far, the plan to do so is going well with Chicago currently in first place.

However, while they are playing good baseball, the team is far from perfect. There have been a couple of issues in their starting lineup and also in their rotation.

Luckily, some underperforming players haven’t had too much of an impact on them yet. Furthermore, with the team hoping to accomplish some great things, it does feel like the roster is an unfinished product.

With a couple of potential needs on paper, the Cubs could look once again to the trade market before at sometime this summer. Despite it being early in the season, some names that were mentioned during the winter have carried over and will likely be talked about more.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about a potential trade target, Luis Castillo, for the Cubs being one of the top trade chips this season.

“Now, whether they'll be able to find a trade partner who A) needs a starting pitcher, B) can afford what's left on Castillo's contract and C) has a surplus bat that would actually help the Mariners is a different story. It probably needs to be a three-team deal to make that happen," he wrote.

So far, the rotation for Chicago has been a little up and down, with some pitchers performing well and others struggling.

While it is early in the season, the team has high expectations for 2025, and improving this unit might be needed in order to truly compete in the National League.

When looking at some of the contenders, like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, they have elite rotations from top to bottom with high-end talent.

For Chicago, while the unit is strong, they arguably could use another top arm in the rotation.

With that being said, Castillo could make a lot of sense for the team if they are willing to spend some money and take on salary.

Currently, the duo of Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele have been good, but adding the former All-Star into the mix would help take the Cubs to the next level.

For a team that should be focused on trying to do all they can in 2025 to win, they do feel like they could use another top-end starter to truly be a contender.

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