Cubs may once again have a trade solution hiding on the Mets’ pitching staff

Jed Hoyer's recent answer to the Chicago Cubs' rotation shortcomings? Put together a trade with the New York Mets. First, they plucked left-hander David Peterson from David Stearns' club in June, then followed it up with the trade that netted Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor ahead of the deadline this summer.

So why not dip back into that well again this winter? If ownership is truly insistent on avoiding any sort of legitimate Tarik Skubal pursuit, Hoyer may have no choice but to cobble together a rotation through a combination of free-agent signings and trades - and one name drawing interest on the trade front is Mets' right-hander Kodai Senga.

Senga, 33, came over from Japan ahead of the 2023 season with plenty of fanfare and immediately rose to the occasion, finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in Cy Young balloting that year, going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts spanning 166 1/3 innings. Since that rookie campaign, though, he's really struggled, to the point he lost his spot in the Mets' rotation this year.

The upside is clear. If you look at his 2023 and 2025 campaigns, it's clear that he can get batters out. But on the other side of the coin, when he's been down, he's been down bad - so it's a roll of the dice and a bet on your own pitching infrastructure if you're thinking about putting together a trade package for the right-hander.

There's nothing wrong with a Cubs' bet on the upside of Kodai Senga

Let me be clear. I have no problem with the Cubs trading for Senga. But he cannot be the crowning jewel of the team's offseason moves. He's coming off a rocky 2026 campaign where he posted a 7.34 ERA and 5.82 FIP in just 61 1/3 innings. Senga was better after being moved to the pen, but that's not what Chicago would be looking for here.

So, sure. Bet on the upside. But you have to pencil him in near the back of the rotation and hope for more, rather than think he's going to be your ace and have him wind up struggling again. Again, the Cubs' rotation questions could be solved in a much cleaner way if they spent like the large-market behemoth they're fully capable of being, but if that's not in the cards, this won't be the last off-the-wall trade idea you see this winter.

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