Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins admits that he was the \u201clow guy\u201d on right-handed pitcher Cade Horton when the team was preparing for the 2022 MLB Draft. That wasn\u2019t a knock on Horton himself, or his standout performance in the College World Series. It was more of a question of sample size. Horton was less than a year and a half removed from Tommy John surgery. He played mostly third base his redshirt freshman year at Oklahoma as he worked back from the injury and had a 7.92 ERA heading into the Big 12 tournament.<\/p>\n
From then on, however, through a CWS finals record-setting 13-strikeout appearance, he didn\u2019t allow more than two runs in a start. The Cubs had to grapple with the question, to paraphrase Hawkins, how much do elite performances in elite competitive environments predict future performance? \u201cI think that\u2019s a really interesting question that we\u2019ll continue to look at,\u201d Hawkins said during the general managers meetings in Las Vegas earlier this month. \u201cBut Cade is an example of someone who had elite performance in an elite competitive environment that continued to perform at an elite level once he got to pro ball, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horton\u2019s emergence this year as not just a strong rotation piece but arguably MLB\u2019s best starting pitcher in the second half of the season (1.03 ERA) was an organizational victory. But the process that brought him into the organization, through the farm system, and to the majors hasn\u2019t produced a boom of young pitching for the Cubs. Of the Cubs\u2019 top 15 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, only three are pitchers: No. 3 Jackson Wiggins, No. 9 Brandon Birdsell and No. 13 Kaleb Wing.<\/p>\n
While Wiggins got a brief taste of Triple-A at the end of the minor-league season, Birdsell had elbow surgery in September to repair his ulnar collateral ligament with an internal brace, and 18-year-old Wing is at the beginning of his pro-ball journey after being selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. There isn\u2019t another Horton waiting in the wings to immediately help the rotation, which makes it all the more important for the Cubs to be aggressive on the starting pitching market this offseason. Adding starting pitching has long been on the Cubs\u2019 to-do list. Even after the Cubs signed left-hander Matthew Boyd to a two-year contract last offseason, they were surveying their options to continue to bolster the rotation.<\/p>\n
As it played out, the opportunity to improve the team presented itself on the offensive side instead. The Cubs traded for right fielder Kyle Tucker, and they even took a swing (and missed) on Alex Bregman. By the time the trade deadline rolled around \u2013 and after a series of injuries to the starting rotation, including Justin Steeele\u2019s season-ending elbow surgery \u2013 the need for frontline starting pitching was even more glaring. The price, however, was high. So high that the frontline starters with multiple years of control didn\u2019t change hands. And the Cubs\u2019 acquisition of right-hander Michael Soroka, who the Cubs saw more as a swingman even before he hurt his shoulder in his first post-trade start, was the closest they came to adding to the rotation.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to this offseason, and the stars are aligned. Not only are the Cubs on the hunt for pitching in all areas, but they see it as the most obvious opportunity for improvement \u2013 after some internal offensive strides, another year of development for their position-player prospects, and a high replacement-level bar to clear at most positions. \u201cI expect to explore trades,\u201d president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during the GM meetings. \u201cI expect to explore free agency, both at the top of the market, but then also looking at minor-league free agency.\u201d Those minor-league free agents will help fill out the bullpen, both right out of spring training and throughout the season.<\/p>\n
But it just wasn\u2019t clear until this week how the starting pitching market would play out in the aftermath of this past trade deadline. \u201cThe trade deadline is a snapshot,\u201d said Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, who led the Cubs\u2019 pitching department before he took the helm in Boston. \u201cMy guess is, from having some conversations, some teams are continuing down the path that they started to to chart at the trade deadline. Others will reevaluate and say, based on play in the second half, or based on resources available, based on the emergence of some guys that they didn\u2019t think were going to contribute to the extent that they did, they\u2019re in a different position now. So you kind of have to refresh and recalibrate.\u201d Breslow reiterated the Reds Sox\u2019 intention to aggressively pursue starting pitching. And on Tuesday, they traded for veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, sending right-hander Richard Fitts and the team\u2019s No. 5 prospect left-hander Brandon Clarke to the Cardinals in the deal. On Wednesday, the Blue Jays made a statement in free agency, reportedly signing right-hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year contract worth $210 million. The starting pitching market is churning early. Your move, Cubs.<\/p>\n
The Cubs need to be aggressive in the starting pitching market this offseason, given the lack of depth in their farm system and the emergence of Cade Horton as a strong rotation piece. With the recent developments in the market, including the Red Sox and Blue Jays making significant moves, the Cubs must act quickly to improve their rotation.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the current state of the Cubs’ farm system in terms of pitching prospects?
\nA: The Cubs have only three pitchers in their top 15 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline: No. 3 Jackson Wiggins, No. 9 Brandon Birdsell, and No. 13 Kaleb Wing.
\nQ: What is the Cubs’ strategy for the offseason in terms of starting pitching?
\nA: The Cubs plan to explore trades and free agency, both at the top of the market and in minor-league free agency, to improve their starting rotation.
\nQ: What recent developments have occurred in the starting pitching market?
\nA: The Red Sox traded for veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, and the Blue Jays signed right-hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year contract worth $210 million, indicating a competitive market for starting pitching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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