Chicago Cubs: 5 bold moves to turn the team into World Series contenders

Chicago Cubs: We need a lefty in the rotation… so how about Robbie Ray?

There aren’t too many options out there if the Cubs want to get an impact starter this offseason, and even fewer if they want to add a southpaw to their heavy right-handed mix. Sure, Justin Steele may be able to provide a left-handed option who can start, but that’s not a given considering he’s started just nine times at the big league level.

Enter free agent Robbie Ray, 2021 AL Cy Young contender for the Toronto Blue Jays. Sure, there were some bumps at the end of the season, but we already know he pitches well in blue and white. Ray won’t be cheap, but adding any impact starter in their prime is going to cost you some dough. The left-hander finished the year 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA, 248 strikeouts in 193 1/3 innings pitched, and a WHIP of 1.04. Plus, he did all that while already pitching in a league that featured a DH and in a division that had some of the toughest lineups in baseball.

If the Cubs are serious about fielding a contending team in 2021, there’s no way around the fact that they need two impact starting pitchers; heck, David Ross even said it publicly. Adding the 30-year-old Ray would give the Cubs another guy to pair with Hendricks to anchor the rotation for years to come. Adding him along with Scherzer in free agency would signal to the club, fans, and rest of the league that the Cubs are for real about smashing back through that window of contention with a new group of players.