The Cubs are still in that familiar spot where any available pitcher can end up on Jed Hoyer’s radar. With the trade deadline not until August 3, the front office has time to wait for the market to settle, but it also has every reason to keep turning over the same names as they pop loose.
One of those names is Aaron Civale, who was designated for assignment by the Athletics earlier this week. That alone puts him back on the Cubs’ board, especially after the club already showed last season that it was willing to take a late-season shot on him.
That earlier run in Chicago went well enough to matter. Civale posted a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings and struck out 28% of the hitters he faced after the Cubs brought him in at the end of the 2025 season. He parlayed that into a one-year, $6 million deal with the Athletics.
The start with his new club looked strong on the surface. Through April, Civale carried a 3.23 ERA.
But the shine has worn off quickly. In 11 appearances since then, he’s sitting on a 6.24 ERA and has struck out just 16.2% of the hitters he’s faced.
There is at least one wrinkle worth noting with Civale: the Athletics are still playing in a minor league stadium, so the home-road split matters. On the road, his ERA drops to 4.25, and his strikeout rate climbs to 19.7%.
That may be enough for the Cubs to view him as a short-term bridge if they need another arm before more established help becomes available later in the season. It would not be a splash move. It would be another one of those practical, temporary additions the Cubs have leaned on lately - a means to an end.
The Cubs are also dealing with Drew Pomeranz, another recent pitching gamble that hasn’t paid off yet. He returned to the team after struggling in a high-leverage role with the Los Angeles Angels, but his second stint in Chicago has been shaky so far, with four runs allowed in his first four appearances.
There’s reason to think that experiment could end once the pitching staff gets healthy. Until then, and until the deadline, the Cubs will keep scanning for whatever comes loose.
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