Chicago Cubs Rumors: German Marquez cannot be the team’s big trade

Chicago Cubs Rumors: MLB.com thinks Marquez and the Cubs could be a fit

In his latest, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com took a look at nine players across the league whose stock is rising and could be dealt ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Of course, Marquez was among the players on that list.

"The Rockies have already received calls on both Márquez and Jon Gray, and while it’s far from certain that they’ll deal either of the starting pitchers, Márquez is certainly seeing his value appreciate in recent weeks. The right-hander has gone 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA over his past five starts, posting superb outings against both the Mets and Athletics. Márquez is in the third year of a five-year, $43 million contract that runs through 2023, though the Rockies hold a $16 million club option for ’24, as well."

Marquez is just one of two pitchers included here – the other being a far more enticing arm in the form of Minnesota Twins righty Jose Berrios, who happens to be Javier Baez’s brother-in-law. The Twins haven’t gone to Berrios recently with any sort of extension and he’s been hot of late. If Minnesota doesn’t turn it up in a hurry, this guy could be a perfect target for Chicago.

At this point, you can’t just go out and get one arm. You need at least two starting pitchers – and one of them needs to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. The staff hasn’t given the bullpen any help and, so far, relievers have picked up the slack. But I’m not sure it’ll last if we don’t start getting more length and seeing more dominance from the rotation. German Marquez can check one of those boxes, but probably not both.