The Major League Baseball trade deadline is 51 days away.
Since every team has a goal heading into the trade deadline, ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle dove into what every team needs to do before we get to that day.
For the Chicago Cubs, there are several needs that must be addressed.
Every contender will look to add relief pitching as well as another bat, in Chicago’s case, a bench bat.
But the overarching need for the Cubs is starting pitching.
With Justin Steele out for the season and Shota Imanaga nursing a hamstring strain, the need for starting pitching has become apparent since Imanaga went down in early May.
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Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have been brilliant, and Colin Rea has had some great outings, but the Cubs need another quality pitcher to bolster the rotation.
Every month, ESPN does a “Stock Watch” which tracks win forecast and postseason probabilities. Since the last one, the Cubs have a starting pitching ERA of 4.45.
This ranks 20th in that span, while the bullpen has the second-best ERA (2.17).
When one of the best offenses in MLB begins to slow down like Chicago’s has in recent weeks, teams need strong pitching performances to win games.
While the Cubs still hold a four-game lead in the National League Central, addressing the need for starting pitching is imperative if Chicago wants to win the division for the first time since 2020.
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