Cubs on the Prowl! Chicago Set to Land Two-Time All-Star Pitcher
With the start of the regular season right around the corner for the Chicago Cubs, the team must be focused on putting the best team possible on the field for 2025.
This winter, the Cubs had an excellent offseason to put themselves in position to be a contender in the National League.
While there are a lot of great teams in the league, Chicago is hoping that their improvements on paper will be enough to win the NL Central and compete with teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs were able to change the outlook for the team with the trade that brought in Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Tucker is the type of superstar that can help elevate the lineup, and that is exactly what Chicago is hoping for.
However, while the star slugger is a great player, he is only under contract through the end of the season. With that being said, the Cubs must do all they can to capitalize on this campaign.
While there have been some strong additions elsewhere on the team, Chicago doesn’t feel like they have gone all-in this year. However, with some talented players likely to be available between now and the trade deadline, the Cubs might not be done trying to improve.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Cubs being an ideal fit for former Cy Young award winner Sandy Alcántara.
Potentially bringing in the former Cy Young award winner from 2022 would be a massive boost to a starting rotation that is already pretty good. Last season, this unit was arguably the strength of the team, and they fortunately brought the key members back.
However, if Chicago is going to realistically compete with the Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League, they likely need more star power in the rotation.
Those two teams especially have top-end talent throughout the rotation, and that might not be something that the Cubs could handle currently in a seven-game series.
Fortunately, even though the cost of bringing in the right-hander would be high, Chicago has a lot of young talent both in the Majors and in their farm system to pull off a trade.
While Alcántara is coming off missing the entire 2024 campaign due to injury, he has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in baseball if he’s healthy.
If the opportunity presents itself, the Cubs would be wise to make an aggressive push to bring him in.
