3 free agents the Cubs have no chance at landing this winter

3 free agents the Cubs have no chance at landing: #1 – Clayton Kershaw

Like I said – the Cubs need an ace. They could address that need by trading for Shohei Ohtani, as some in the industry have speculated recently. Or, they could drop bags of money at the feet of someone like deGrom or longtime Dodgers staple Clayton Kershaw.

For a variety of reasons, though, Los Angeles is unlikely to let that happen.

The southpaw hasn’t pitched in nearly a month, but when he’s taken the ball this year, he’s been vintage Kershaw, working to a 2.64 ERA/2.73 FIP in 15 starts. He’s got a sub-1.000 WHIP, carries a 0.7 HR/9 mark, his lowest since 2016, and continues to dominate the zone, evidenced by a 5.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

There are some guys, as Cubs fans know all too well, who seem like they should finish their career in the same uniform they started it in. We all thought Anthony Rizzo was that guy in Chicago, but when it comes to Kershaw and the Dodgers, I can’t envision a scenario playing out where he both wants to keep pitching and Los Angeles doesn’t do what it needs to in order to keep him in the fold.

Adding a deGrom or Kershaw to the Cubs’ rotation would be nice, but I don’t see a clear path to that happening this winter. Getting that long-coveted ace will prove tricky for Jed Hoyer and we’ll have to see how he goes about checking that off his offseason to-do list.