Chicago Cubs will trade these two pitchers during the season

The Chicago Cubs added a plethora of pitching this offseason. As a result, the team could very well move two pitchers during the season.

The Chicago Cubs have invited 21 non-roster players to Mesa for Spring Training that starts in a few days. This is in addition to the acquisitions of Jharel Cotton, Jeremy Jeffress, Casey Sadler, Ryan Tepera and Dan Winkler earlier in the offseason.

Some will remain on the 40-man roster, others will be assigned to the minors and there will be a few who will be outrighted. Given the team’s uncertainty surrounding this year’s pitching staff, all of these guys have a shot at impacting the 2020 club.

As we all know at this point, Jose Quintana, was acquired from the White Sox for Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, first baseman Matt Rose, and middle infielder Bryant Flete.  In his two and a half years on the Northside, the left-hander has been reliable if nothing else given he’s never missed a start.  He has also been fairly solid if unremarkable in the fourth spot posting a 4.23 ERA and 1.303 WHIP.

But this is not the Quintana the Cubs believed they were acquiring back in 2017.  What the Cubs were planning to get was this: in 2015-2016 a 3.28 ERA, 1.215 WHIP with a 3.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio who in 2016 was an All-Star and came in tenth in American League Cy Young voting.

Theo Epstein opted to pick up Quintana’s $10.5 million team option for 2020 – giving him another arm to slot in behind the likes of Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester. The 31-year-old southpaw is poised to hit free agency next winter, potentially making this his last season on the North Side.

If Quintana steps up and reverts back to what made him an ace on the South Side as recently as 2017 and one of the other aforementioned pitchers break out, look for Epstein to capitalize. There would be about $5 million left on his contract, making him a very attractive option for a cost-conscious team looking to add a reliable starter ahead of a postseason push.

Chicago Cubs: Chatwood’s renaissance could attract offers

The saying about the best-laid plans of mice and men going awry was perhaps never so well demonstrated than in Tyler Chatwood.  Though like most of those who make the plans, the warning signs were there.

Chatwood’s movement on his fastball is little matched by any other pitcher.  His performance away from hitter-friendly Coors Field tied him with Stephen Strasburg for road ERA in 2016-2017 and only Clayton Kershaw was better.  The Cubs bit and signed the free-agent righty to a three year, $38 million deal ($12.67 million AAV).

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But his fastball command, never that strong, completely vanished upon his arrival in Chicago. Chatwood’s strikeout-to-walk ratio plummeted, driving up his pitch count and shortening his outings.  By the end of July 2018, he was relegated to the bullpen and after September 8 that year, he didn’t throw another pitch.

The torches and pitchforks were ready to start 2019, but a funny thing happened on the way. On April 21, in the midst of a terrible 10-10 start to the season, Chatwood was called on for a spot start. The Chicago fan base offered a collective groan that was audible throughout the city.

Then he went six innings, walked two and struck out three while allowing two hits and no runs. The Cubs won on a walk-off hit by David Bote. That sparked a month-long winning streak that saw the fourth-place Cubs zoom to first place by  early May.