The Chicago Cubs are shaping up as buyers at this year’s trade deadline, and the pitching needs are hard to miss. With a pile of injuries hitting the starting rotation, Chicago could be shopping for arms, and that means the front office may have to part with some real talent to get a deal done.
One name that surfaced Friday in The Athletic’s reporting is 24-year-old outfielder Kevin Alcántara, a player who has bounced between Triple-A and the majors. Sahadev Sharma wrote that the Cubs could decide to move him as they look to boost the rotation.
"[Kevin] Alcántara has shown power and speed in the minors, though in the big leagues the former hasn’t shown up yet and the latter hasn’t kept him from making some baserunning mistakes," Sharma wrote.
Alcántara’s big-league sample is still tiny. Since his MLB debut in 2024, he has appeared in 32 games and stepped to the plate 43 times, producing nine hits, four RBIs and a .475 OPS.
Still, there’s enough there to keep other teams interested. Sharma noted that Alcántara is "a plus defender in center who teams can dream on at the plate and still only 24," and added, "He’s out of options next year and isn’t guaranteed an everyday spot with the Cubs next year, so trying to maximize his value makes sense."
In Triple-A, Alcántara’s offense has looked more like the version that made him such a highly regarded prospect in the Cubs’ system. Another club could decide that a fresh start is worth the gamble and hope the bat finally clicks in the majors.
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Cubs May Finally Have The Rotation Move Fans Have Been Waiting For
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One name that keeps surfacing in that conversation is Reid Detmers, a controllable left-hander whose situation fits what Chicago has been chasing. The Angels appear open to reshaping parts of their roster, and any serious pursuit would likely require real prospect capital, which is why this kind of rumor has enough weight to linger even without a deal in hand. [Read more 🡒]
Craig Counsell Just Raised The Stakes On Jameson Taillon
Jameson Taillons rough outing Sunday only sharpened the conversation around a Cubs rotation that has already been stretched thin by injuries. He was tagged for seven runs and three home runs, a line that tied him for the most homers allowed by any pitcher this season, and it came at a time when Chicago has been leaning hard on whatever healthy arms it can find.
Craig Counsells response made clear the Cubs are past the point of simply riding it out and hoping for a quick reset. With Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, Justin Steele and Cade Horton all on the injured list, Taillon may still be part of the picture through the trade deadline, but the bigger question now is whether Chicago can afford to leave its postseason rotation to chance without adding another starter. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Suddenly Have A Matt Shaw Problem At The Worst Time
Matt Shaws season has quietly become one of the more important little subplots on the North Side. The Cubs are sitting in the NL Wild Card lead and heading into deadline season as buyers, which means every healthy, useful piece on the roster matters a little more than it did in April. Shaw has given them some of that value in a utility role, showing real improvement on both sides of the ball before a left hand sprain sent him to the injured list on June 29.
Now the timing is getting awkward. Chicago would prefer to keep building around young, versatile players like Shaw, but his recovery is moving cautiously and the club has to sort out its roster plans while the deadline pressure builds. Even if the short-term answer is patience, the bigger question is how soon the Cubs can get him back into the mix and whether they can afford to wait with so much at stake. [Read more 🡒]