Chicago Cubs: Four cost-effective starting pitchers to consider

Former Cubs lefty Rich Hill could close out his career with the club

A wild card to be sure, a Rich Hill return to the North Side actually makes sense. The seasoned southpaw has continually gotten better with age since his career renaissance began in 2015.

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Hill is a master of getting soft contact, which in an era where the longball has become king, is a very previous commodity. The problem is, of course, Hill’s age. He’ll be 41 by Opening Day and while he’s defied age for the most part, it looks to potentially be catching up with him as his 2020 with the Twins saw his SO/9 plummet to 7.0, the first time it wasn’t in the double digits since 2012.

His walks per nine also rose to 4.0, the highest it’s been since 2014. But he was as good as ever at getting soft contact with his HR/9 being below 1.0 for the first time since 2016, indicative of his success of getting soft contact. With this in mind, a one-year deal to a pitcher that can keep the ball on the ground, makes a lot of sense.

We all want to see Jake Arrieta return to the Cubs

Admit it. You want it, I want it, we all want it. Jake Arrieta is probably the worst pitcher listed here, but at the end of the day, the Cubs likely aren’t gonna be any good this year anyways.

So why not give the fans something to be happy about? The franchise has lost its beloved play-by-play man and several fan favorites (and likely are gonna lose more before the 2021 season), so why not give Arrieta the chance to end his career in a Chicago Cubs uniform? Arrieta is throwing for interested teams next week, and if he looks good, Jed Hoyer should pull the trigger.

So those are four intriguing starter options that make sense for the Cubs. The Cubs simply aren’t gonna be in the market for someone like Trevor Bauer, but they need to add depth at the very least, and there’s plenty of cheap, decent, options for them to choose from. Hopefully the team isn’t done addressing their rotation, otherwise they could be in for a long, difficult season.