Cubs likely to scout Julio Teheran, Anibal Sanchez Tuesday in Miami

Over the weekend, the Chicago Cubs signed former first-rounder Shelby Miller to a non-guaranteed deal in hopes of shoring up the starting rotation. Miller is an interesting signing, with eight MLB seasons under his belt along with a 4.11 ERA. Hopefully he will provide some upside to a rotation who’s lost everyone besides Kyle Hendricks and Alec Mills.

After we watched Chicago fail to even put forth a competitive offer to franchise icon Jon Lester over the weekend, we need to be realistic about what types of arms we’re talking about when looking at adding further pitching depth.

The first arm that could be a possibility is Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez is a name that’s been around the league for awhile and he surprisingly has shown there’s still some left in the tank. Through 15 MLB seasons, Sanchez has posted a 4.05 ERA and notable 2.83 and 3.85 marks in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

He did struggle in 2020, posting a 6.62 ERA through 11 starts, so he will have to prove himself during the showcase he will be throwing at on Tuesday in Miami. This presents a good opportunity for the Cubs to bring in Sanchez for a good price.

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The risky part about Sanchez is that you don’t really know what you’re going to get from the 36-year-old. He has shown signs of life late in his career, but we still have seen his age come into play over this past season so this showcase will be very important for him to show teams he is worth taking a chance on. He would be a great fit for this team if he can prove himself during these workouts.

The next arm to touch on is another that will be throwing in the Tuesday showcase in Miami and that is Julio Teheran. Teheran is another sneaky option that could bring upside into this rotation.

He has spent 10 seasons in the league, posting a 3.81 ERA. He has two All-Star appearances to his name from 2014 and 2016 and he finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting back in 2013.

Teheran is in a similar boat as Sanchez. He posted a 10.05 ERA in 2020 with the Angels so he has a lot to prove to potentially interested teams. The showcase in Miami on Tuesday will provide a massive opportunity for him to show clubs he still has it.

You’re probably not going to be enamored with the guys Jed Hoyer will bring in (through no fault of his own). It’s going to be moves like Miller, Sanchez or Teheran – and we’ll just hope a few of them pan out.