Chicago Cubs: Potential rotation options while Brett Anderson is out

Making a trade

As mentioned earlier, I believe the Cubs will make a trade for a starting pitcher, but not immediately. This is a move you could likely expect to happen sometime in July. The way things are going, it seems almost inevitable that the Cubs will be aggressive on the trade market. John Lackey has been terrible and the fifth spot remains a mystery for the time being.

Despite having called up a slew of talented young players in the last two years, the Cubs still have a fairly strong farm system. Chicago has a number of highly-touted prospects right now, and they may not be too reluctant to deal them.

Just be prepared if and when they do.

Remember what the Cubs had to give up to get Aroldis Chapman? And he was only a closer. Consider this: with multiple years left on his contract, the Yankees reportedly wanted Kyle Schwarber and top prospects for Andrew Miller. If they wanted that much for a reliever with multiple contract years, what do you think teams will be demanding for cost-controlled, young starters?

If the Cubs were to go after someone like Chris Archer, you could expect to say goodbye to any of Ian Happ, Jeimer Candelario, Victor Caratini or Eloy Jimenez. It also wouldn’t come as a surprise to see someone like Javier Baez as part of that type of deal.

This isn’t to say the Cubs will only trade for a top-line young guy, but they look to be in a position to trade for someone.