Chicago Cubs Rumors: Jacob deGrom would drastically alter this club

Adding Jacob deGrom could take the Chicago Cubs from a favorite in the National League to a legitimate threat to win a second World Series in three years.

With the All-Star Game taking place Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., much will undoubtedly be made of the American League-National League rivalry. More importantly, though, how the best clubs in each league (like the Chicago Cubs) stack up against one another.

And, as happy as I am with how the Cubs finished the first half, the American League, at least right now, looks like the drastically stronger of the two. The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox look like they’re destined to match up come October. Meanwhile, Chicago leads a weaker National League.

When you look specifically at a team like Houston, their rotation looms large. We’re talking about facing some combination of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Dallas Kuechel, Lance McCullers Jr. and Charlie Morton. Whoever didn’t make the rotation in a postseason series would loom large in the pen.

What could the Cubs do to even the field a bit? Trade for a likely Cy Young finalist in the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom. Such an acquisition surely won’t be easy. Nor will it come cheap. But with the right-hander in-tow, the Cubs match up on paper against any team in the American League.