Chicago Cubs: 3 offseason moves that won’t break the bank

Chicago Cubs: Andrew Heaney could be a cost-effective rotation solution

Look. It’s no secret – the Cubs starting rotation has been in shambles for most of the year. Chicago starters carry a 4.92 ERA on the year, which ranks 23rd in all of baseball and 13th among 15 Senior Circuit clubs.

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Thankfully, we’re starting to see some young arms get shots at cracking the rotation and making an impression heading into 2022. Justin Steele is the most obvious example and it looks like we’ll get Keegan Thompson taking a start this weekend at Wrigley after being stretched out at Triple-A Iowa in recent weeks.

Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills could both factor into the team’s rotation plans next season, along with ace Kyle Hendricks, but it’s clear you can’t ever have too many starting pitchers. While you might like the idea of a Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw coming to the North Side, a more feasible target could wind up being someone like Andrew Heaney.

Heaney, who was traded to the Yankees at the deadline, twirled a gem against the rival Red Sox his last time out, tossing seven frames of one-run ball. The former top prospect has never really lived up to the hype, making a rebuilding team like the Cubs a perfect destination, as they can afford to put him through the Pitch Lab and let him attempt to work through his issues.

He turns 31 next June, so age isn’t an issue here. Given we’re talking about a guy who carries a career 4.64 ERA, he’s far from a sure thing in terms of what you’re getting, but he might be just the type of pitcher Hoyer hones in on as he looks to flesh out his starting staff.