Projecting next year’s Chicago Cubs starting rotation

This has been about as poor of a season as the Chicago Cubs could have expected and the trade deadline can not come soon enough. Significant changes will once again sweep the current roster away and shift the focus to the future with the 2022 season essentially in the dumps by mid-June.

The front office somehow managed to spend big money while simultaneously not making enough significant moves to bolster the offense for this season. Both big-ticket signings in Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman are shelved with injuries and the Cubs are looking up at the Pirates in the division standings – never a good sign.

Things can shift next season with a strong free agency period if the Cubs really want to be aggressive. If that proves to be the case and Chicago puts its best foot forward heading into next year, they will need to work on the starting rotation first and foremost.

Pitching continues to be a question mark as quality starts are too uncommon to rely on any one particular arm. What could the rotation look like in 2023?

Marcus Stroman returns as the top arm for the Cubs

The Cubs got aggressive and landed one of the hottest arms on the market last winter in Stroman. Though he has had some ups and downs so far in Chicago, he possesses the upside on the mound that this team needs.

Stroman can lead the pitching unit throughout the season and his upside as an ace has to be appealing enough to give him that opportunity in 2023. His signing makes me think the front office believes the Cubs can win and proved that they are willing to spend the money to make things happen.

Of the current veterans on the roster, Stroman is the closest guarantee to returning and playing a significant role for the team next season. The rest gets a bit more challenging to predict.