Chicago Cubs: An early look at 2020 free agent pitchers

Months remain in the Chicago Cubs 2019 season, but the long-term status of the pitching staff is still worth considering just days before the deadline.

It may seem odd to talk about 2020 free agency as we approach the 2019 trade deadline, but let’s take an early look anyways. The Chicago Cubs will have a lot of decisions to make this offseason with several players coming off the books and a pitching staff that is growing older.

In terms of the starting rotation, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish should no doubt be there in 2020. The team holds one last club option on left-hander Jose Quintana and Cole Hamels will be a free agent at year’s end. Reinforcements will likely be needed to be added to the rotation and holes need to be filled in the bullpen. One may wonder if Adbert Alzolay will be starting full-time next season, but regardless, he isn’t enough to fix this staff on his own.

Free agent markets will not be as exciting going forward with seemingly everyone and their mother getting extensions, but there are some notable names on the board. Some that could be good for the Cubs and others that may seem great but may not either be possible or just because they are not the player they once were. Here are five arms that could help the Cubs in 2020 and beyond.

Chicago Cubs: This particular free agent is currently someone on the roster.

We will start with a guy on the current team because Cole Hamels has been dynamite for the Cubs during his tenure here. Before the injury, the left-hander posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.2 WHIP, 3.60 FIP and a 8.8 K/9 in 17 starts. He has a 2.71 ERA and 3.52 FIP as a Cub going back to last year.

Hamels should be returning to the team very soon, and if all goes well, it seems likely the team will have an eye on him again this offseason. He’s a bit more of a risk given he’s 35 years old, but he has proven age has not gotten to him – at least not yet.

He may want a multi-year deal and the Cubs should consider a two-year type contract for him. It’s hard to not want a guy like him to come back when he has done nothing but good things for you.

Now if he wants a three-plus year deal, then passing on him would be understandable. Again he is in his mid-30s and may not have more than a few good years left with 2,652 2/3 MLB innings on his arm. Regardless it is easy to imagine the Cubs thinking about him as a future piece right now.

Chicago Cubs: Not a household name, but Odorizzi could be an affordable option.

While certainly not a top-tier free agent, there will definitely be teams interested in Twins starter Jake Odorizzi this offseason. Odorrizi, 29, received his first All-Star honors this season and is so far pitching to a 3.84 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.2 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 in 20 starts. The FIP is a wee-bit high but he has missed bats and put together some good work.

Now his overall career numbers (3.94 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 in 972 2/3 IP) are solid. Not great, but very solid. He is having the best year (so far) he has had since his days in Tampa Bay after having mediocre seasons in 2017 and 2018.

There might be some regression in 2020. However, his track record shows he can be a solid guy in the rotation. His best showing came back in 2015 when he posted a 3.35 ERA and 3.61 FIP in 28 starts.

Odorizzi is not a top of the rotation guy, but could slide nicely as a number three or four on a team like the Cubs depending on how they put the rotation together next year. The cost to sign him will not be too astronomical which can make him an affordable, yet a useful piece in 2020 and beyond.

Chicago Cubs: The former Cy Young award winner has had an interesting season.

Like Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel did not sign with a team until the season had already begun. So far with Atlanta, he has a 3.50 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 1.3 WHIP and 7.0 K/9 in seven starts. The ERA may look good but the FIP is much, much higher.

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Everyone who follows baseball knows Keuchel, 31, was once considered one of the best in the game. The guy in addition to his 2015 AL Cy Young win has a career 3.66 ERA and 3.76 FIP in 1,233 innings pitched.

It is hard to expect a top-performance from a guy who did not sign before the season began. With the peripherals looking as bad as they are he has still at least shown he can get the job done.

This is a bit riskier for the Cubs to invest in. Despite the one-year deal, he is making decent money ($13 million this season) and may command a good chunk when he hits the market again this winter.

He is not old but he is not a spring chicken. It may be a bit more difficult to consider a more expensive guy on the other side of 30, but he should be monitored as the season progresses.

Chicago Cubs: You want to make a statement? Here you go.

Gerrit Cole is everything the Cubs would want, a fireball-throwing arm in his prime. The three-time All-Star currently leads the majors in in strikeouts (212) as he sports a 2.94 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 1.0 WHIP and a blazing 13.3 K/9. In three of the last four seasons, he hit the 200 inning mark and has a career 3.32 ERA in 182 starts since he debuted with the Pirates in 2013.

If there is a pitching free agent to pay big, it is Gerrit Cole. The numbers speak for themselves and will begin next year at 29 years of age. He has probably four-ish more years of prime pitching left so take that when you can. The Cubs really only have one starter right now (Darvish) that throws mid-to-upper 90s. Velocity is not always the be all end all, but in an era of slugging and strikeouts it is a big more important to have.

What more can be said? Cole in a Cubs uniform would be a dream come true for many fans.

There are two names that were not mentioned, first being Madison Bumgarner and the other being Stephen Strasburg. With Strasburg, it is up to him if he opts out of his deal so he will not be on this list necessarily.

With Bumgarner, the track record says yes he would be amazing, but a guy who is still good but not the same and could command a lot of money is risky. He could still be very good down the road but right now seems like a direction the Cubs will not go in.