Disastrous start to the year could make the Red Sox a perfect Cubs trade partner

It's been an eventful start to the season for the Boston Red Sox - in all the worst ways. The team enters Monday in dead-last in the American League East at 13-21, already 10 games out in the division.

Craig Breslow taking a machete to his team's coaching ranks, including manager Alex Cora, hasn't seemed to fix much - at least not yet - and I doubt that will change with time. Barring a dramatic turnaround, Boston looks like a clear-cut seller this summer and they have a handful of pieces that could be of interest to a team like the Chicago Cubs.

Really, Chicago's needs lie almost entirely on the pitching side of things. A season-ending injury removed Cade Horton from the rotation picture just two starts into the year and Justin Steele won't be back until, at the earliest, after the All-Star break. In the bullpen, injuries piled up quickly in April and it's a safe bet Jed Hoyer will be looking to add there, as well.

Cubs could run back one of their biggest trade deadline moves of all-time

Two names immediately jump out - the first being one Cubs fans are intimately familiar with in Aroldis Chapman, who was the team's marquee deadline addition 10 years ago en route to a World Series championship.

On the heels of a brilliant 2025 season in Boston, Chapman returned to the Red Sox and picked up right where he left off, carrying a 0.84 ERA and 0.938 WHIP through his first 11 appearances this year. He continues to defy age, dominating hitters at age 38 with a fastball that, while not what it once was, still sits in the upper-90s.

Pairing Chapman with Daniel Palencia at the back of the Cubs' bullpen would give Craig Counsell one of the best late-inning duos in all of baseball. He's got the experience and there's familiarity on both sides of the equation, so this is a name to keep an eye on.

Elsewhere, Sonny Gray makes sense - especially if the Marlins hold onto Sandy Alcantara and/or Joe Ryan's injury turns out to be something serious. Gray wouldn't break the bank in the way those two would, but could add another veteran piece to the mix to solidify the Cubs' starting rotation.

Whether or not Gray is moved will come down to how he looks when he returns from injury. The right-hander is working his way back from a hamstring strain and could be back on the mound in early May. One other factor at play here is Gray has a full no-trade clause, but it's hard to believe he wouldn't waive it to get the chance to compete for a championship in Chicago.

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