Cubs eyeing Trevor Rogers in their yet-to-begin quest to fix the starting rotation

Chicago Cubs beat writer Sahadev Sharma hit it on the head when he described the task at hand for Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins: "starting from scratch" when it comes to the starting rotation.

To that end, the majority of the conversations the Cubs had at this week's GM Meetings in Las Vegas were focused on pitching, and one name that stood out was left-hander Trevor Rogers, a 29-year-old left-hander who spent the last two years with the Baltimore Orioles, to mixed results.

In 2025, Rogers broke out in a big way after missing the first two months with a knee injury, was an All-Star and received down-ballot Cy Young votes, posting a 1.81 ERA and 0.903 WHIP in 18 starts. His 2026 was a different story, with his groundball and strikeout rates falling. He finished with a 4.03 ERA (but more encouraging 3.45 FIP) in 30 starts across 169 2/3 innings.

As Sharma notes, though, he finished on a high note, leaning on his sweeper more to great effect, with a 2.86 ERA in his final 17 starts (with an improved strikeout rate, to boot). Swing-and-miss is something the Cubs badly need to add this winter, and we know they're focused on pitchers who can rack up strikeouts and/or keep the ball on the ground.

Cubs yet to make their first big splash of an offseason focused on arms

Rogers seems to be flying under the radar a bit this winter, tucked neatly behind the big fish, Tarik Skubal, and a collection of other impressive arms, including Freddy Peralta, Michael King and Sonny Gray. What he'll command on a long-term deal remains very unclear, with projections ranging from MLB Trade Rumors' five years, $115 million to Spotrac's six years and $158 million.

Cubs fans are all too well aware, in terms of starting pitching, that the team has never gone north of the six-year, $155 million deal they gave Jon Lester more than a decade ago, so if Rogers' market pushes to that level, it will be a test of both ownership and the front office's willingness to think big.

Rogers alone will not fix this rotation. But his relative youth and upside could make him an intriguing addition to a group that holds a lot of questions in the form of Justin Steele, Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown.

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