Chicago Cubs: Six potential starting pitching trade targets

Will the Chicago Cubs be looking to add to their starting rotation via trade this offseason? If so, here are six names that could be available.

The Chicago Cubs have several areas to address this offseason if they want to contend in 2020. One of those areas is the starting rotation.

As of right now, the rotation consists of Jon Lester, Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, and Jose Quintana. While Hendricks is coming off a nice season and Darvish had a great second-half comeback this past year, Lester and Quintana were both disappointing. Quintana was not consistent, while Lester looked like a shell of his former self.

It’s hard to say what the Cubs will get from their current starting pitchers in 2020. They do have a spot in the rotation open, as they declined to make a qualifying offer to Cole Hamels. Therefore, if the team decides not to try to fill that spot internally with someone such as Tyler Chatwood or Alec Mills, they’ll have to go out and find another arm.

In any case, an upgrade is going to be necessary. Free agency offers quite a few options this offseason, but any established free agent starting pitcher is going to cost a lot of money. I previously speculated on Kyle Gibson, whom MLBTradeRumors.com projects is going to the Cubs. The Cubs will certainly be linked to many other free agent names in rumors as well.

However, the team may decide to look at some trade options to fill that fifth starter spot. Here, we look at six names who could be available this offseason via trade. Some trades have a decent chance of happening, while others are a long shot.