The Cubs are moving toward seller’s-market behavior at the deadline’s opposite end: they look like buyers, and the next few weeks will tell Jed Hoyer exactly how aggressive he can be. The biggest variable is simple enough. Chicago needs pitching, and it needs it badly.
That need shows up everywhere you look. Entering this week’s series in Baltimore, the Cubs sat 21st in team ERA, with the rotation at 24th at 4.62 and the bullpen 14th at 4.01. The relief group has been middle-of-the-pack, but Craig Counsell still needs more help, especially with closer Daniel Palencia unavailable until sometime after the All-Star break.
The rotation has been hit even harder. Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera, Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Ben Brown are all on the injured list. Taillon appears likely to be back before the break, but Chicago is still operating with a staff that is nowhere near full strength.
That’s why the Cubs may have to get creative.
The point, as discussed on a recent episode of the Cubbies Crib podcast, is that Chicago does not just need warm bodies. It needs pitchers who can actually stop things, and those arms cost real talent. With the farm system not in great shape, Hoyer may have to look beyond the obvious prospect package to fill the holes.
One name that could come into play is Miguel Amaya.
It’s not the kind of idea that will land softly, but it is at least worth considering if the right team calls. Clubs such as the Rays or Yankees, both of whom are known to be looking for catching help, could be the sort of suitors that make the Cubs pause if they put a legitimate arm or two on the table. Amaya is a four-year MLB veteran, and moving him would be a real decision, not a throwaway one.
Still, the playing time picture matters. Carson Kelly has taken most of the catching reps this season, which has limited Amaya to 49 games and 147 plate appearances. That opens the door to a possible backup plan, with Christian Bethancourt currently at Triple-A as one option if Chicago decides Kelly can carry the load and the pitching staff needs the bigger fix.
The downside is obvious. If Amaya goes, the Cubs would head into the offseason without a clear answer behind the plate in 2027.
A late-summer extension for Kelly could ease that concern, especially after how well he has played since joining the team. Even so, it feels like a long shot that Chicago would simply hand the job to Moises Ballesteros next spring.
In the end, this is all about the math of the deadline. The Cubs have too many pitching needs and not enough easy answers, and that may force them to consider moving someone like Amaya if it helps them land the kind of arms they actually need.
In Other News...
Cubs Face A Draft Risk They Really Cannot Afford Again
The Cubs head into the upcoming MLB Draft with a familiar need hanging over the board: pitching, and especially pitching that can actually move the needle in an organization light on high-end arms. That urgency makes the first round feel less like a luxury pick and more like a chance to start fixing a long-running problem, even if the pool of college arms comes with the usual medical questions.
Chicagos caution is understandable after recent swings on injured pitchers such as Cade Horton and Jaxon Wiggins, and it has left the club wary of repeating the same mistake. One of the names drawing attention comes with enough arm-related concern to make the Cubs think twice, which is exactly the kind of draft crossroad they can ill afford to get wrong again. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Finally Got The Boyd And Bregman Boost They Needed
The Cubs opened their three-game set in Baltimore with a 5-2 win, and the night had the kind of shape they have been looking for from two of their bigger additions. Matthew Boyd gave them six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, his most extended outing since coming off the injured list, while Alex Bregman came through with the sort of timely contact that can change a game when runners are on base.
Boyds line was the bigger story, especially after he worked through a couple of baserunners and still kept the Orioles off the board, and manager Craig Counsell made clear afterward how much that mattered. Bregman also helped push the Cubs into control with an RBI single and another run-producing play later, giving Chicago a needed boost from the middle of the order even as some of the lineups struggles continued to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Deadline Pressure Is Growing Around One Problem They Can't Escape
With the amateur draft still occupying most front offices, the trade market has not fully come into focus yet, but the Cubs already know the kind of problem they will be trying to solve. Chicagos pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries, leaving the club in a spot where the need is less about sorting starters from relievers and more about simply finding healthy arms. Craig Counsell has framed the deadline ask in broad terms, and that makes sense with so many pieces unavailable.
The list of sidelined pitchers is long enough to shape how the Cubs think about July, from Justin Steele and Cade Horton to Hoby Milner and Daniel Palencia. Jameson Taillon is at least moving in the right direction after a rehab outing in which he worked 3 1/3 innings and 45 pitches, and he is expected to make one more rehab start before rejoining the rotation after the All-Star break. Even then, Chicago may have to manage him carefully early on, which only underscores why the deadline pressure around pitching keeps building. [Read more 🡒]