Though a league-best offense has kept them atop the National League Central, the Chicago Cubs starting rotation continues to be a glaring weakness.
With ace Justin Steele out for the season and All-Star Shota Imanaga missing most of May with a hamstring strain, the Cubs have been forced to turn to 25-year-old right-hander Ben Brown to fill out their rotation, and have watched him get rocked to the tune of a 6.39 ERA in 11 games. And while veterans Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, and Jameson Taillon have given the team stable-if-unspectacular production, you wouldn’t feel good about starting any of them in a playoff game against the stacked rotations of the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
If the Cubs are serious about maximizing their spectacular offense, they need to add a true frontline starter to the mix, and Newsweek’s Andrew Wright believes they could find a solution in Toronto Blue Jay’s right-hander Kevin Gausman.
“Gausman could join the Cubs rotation and replace Ben Brown, who has a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts this season,” Wright wrote. “With a proven and trusted arm like Gausman in the rotation, the Cubs rotation depth is among the best in baseball when Imanaga returns from his injury.”
Though his strikeout rate isn’t what it once was, the 34-year-old Gausman has adapted into a strike-throwing machine and one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball. He is currently on pace to make at least 31 starts for the fifth consecutive season and has posted an ERA between 2.81 and 3.83 in every season since 2020.
In addition to his dependability, Gausman also brings with him big-game experience, having pitched in postseason games with four different franchises. Given that he is still owed $46 million over the next two seasons, the price for his services won’t be cheap, but it may be worth it for the Cubs to form a fearsome one-two punch with Imanaga.
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