The Chicago Cubs' starting rotation needs some upgrades. They have a four-game lead in the National League Central entering play on Independence Day, but the Milwaukee Brewers do not seem to be going away.
The Cubs will be without Justin Steele for the rest of the season, and four of their starting pitchers, Ben Brown, Colin Rea, Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon, have ERAs above 4.00. The Cubs had a chance to prevent this during the offseason, but reportedly backed out of a trade with the Miami Marlins for Jesús Luzardo.
Luzardo has been great for the Philadelphia Phillies. Outside of two blow-up starts, he has been a consistent force. It's too late for the Cubs to get Luzardo now, but they could still acquire a talented pitcher at the trade deadline. FanSided's Aldo Soto suggested the team trade for Kris Bubic of the Kansas City Royals.
"Like Luzardo, Bubic is a former big-name prospect who took a while to marinate before tapping into his potential," wrote Soto. "The Royals lefty had a 4.85 ERA in his first 60 MLB starts from 2020-23, before he underwent Tommy John surgery that kept him out for almost all of 2023. Bubic returned to action the following year but was used out of the bullpen, where he became a stud. The lefty made 27 appearances for Kansas City last year and posted a 2.67 ERA in 30.1 innings with a great strikeout to walk ratio of 39:5."
Bubic is having a breakout season since returning to the starting rotation. He has a 2.25 ERA in 16 starts this year. He has also notched 101 strikeouts.
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He could slot in behind Shōta Imanaga in the Cubs' rotation as they try to make the postseason. The Cubs have one of the best offenses in baseball, but they need to shore up their pitching staff if they want to make a deep run in October.
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