Chicago Cubs need starting pitching, but it’s still complicated

The Chicago Cubs have one glaring need: pitching. A team with title aspirations has Theo Epstein in a tough spot with just a week till the trade deadline.

Despite a star-studded rotation on paper, inconsistencies and injuries throughout the pitching staff continue to cause issue for the Chicago Cubs. As the deadline approaches, a prime opportunity to shore up this weakness must be seized.

Luke Farrell got lit up for six earned runs in less than four innings of work. The Cubs rolled into 2018 with a rotation that seemed primed to carry the North Siders back to a fourth straight National League Championship Series.

They had Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks complimented with the additions of Jose Quintana from the 2017 trade deadline and Yu Darvish, after signing the right-hander to a lengthy six-year deal in the offseason. It appeared that Epstein had created a four-man starting core that could compete with anyone in the league.