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.

Chicago Cubs: A strength becomes a weakness for team

While nobody could have anticipated the Cubs being in the market to add a starting pitcher, here we are.

Both Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana have been up and down, although the latter has been more consistent of late. Staff ace Jon Lester has been really good, but analytics project his numbers to decline during the second half of the season. Darvish has notoriously battled mental hurdles, along with injuries, and remains a major question mark and may not prove to be a reliable contributor this season.

So what now?

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Time to go shopping

Despite the aforementioned troubles in the Cubs rotation, the team has the best record in the National League. Thanks in large part to a lineup led by MVP candidate Javier Baez and a steady bullpen, the Cubs have survived the rotation issues.

They’ve been linked to starters such as J.A. Happ, Cole Hamels, Nathan Eovaldi and even Jacob degrom.

Any of these additions would be an instant boost to the club, but how would they fit in. Lets look at how all of this would shape up if the Cubs were to make the playoffs-which they should.

In a five-game series, the Cubs would undoubtedly turn to Lester and Hendricks to head the rotation. Both have shown the ability to pitch at their best in big games. Quintana would also figure to be in the mix, especially with how he’s pitched in his last few outings.