Former Cubs trade deadline addition is already making fans second guess Jed Hoyer

We knew the Chicago Cubs needed rotation reinforcements last summer. Jed Hoyer knew it. And the rest of the league's front office executives knew it - and that knowledge led them to hold firm on sky-high asking prices, forcing Hoyer to settle for Michael Soroka at the trade deadline.

It's nothing against Soroka, but it was pretty clear Chicago needed an impact arm and there was little faith he'd be that. Then, he left his first Cubs start early with an injury and wound up missing the next 5 1/2 weeks, leaving the club right where it was before his addition. To rub salt in the wound, Soroka has hit the ground running with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026, leaving us all to wonder what might have been had he been healthy down the stretch last year.

Through his first three starts, the veteran right-hander boasts a 2.83 ERA (and a near-identical 2.74 FIP) and is punching out batters at a staggering clip (13.2 K/9). He's struck out 10 twice already and Arizona has won all of his starts.

Meanwhile, the Cubs were forced to go with a bullpen game in Game 5 of the NLDS last fall and are currently battling through 40 percent of their Opening Day rotation on the injured list. Good times.

Could the Cubs target Michael Soroka again at the trade deadline?

Soroka signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with Arizona this winter and could be a hot commodity come this year's deadline, especially if he continues to pitch like this. It's way too soon to make any sort of educated guess, but if the Cubs need rotation reinforcements, could a do-over with the 28-year-old former first-rounder be a possibility?

Despite the loss of Cade Horton for the year and Matthew Boyd's ongoing IL stint, Cubs starting pitchers have been the lone bright spot for the struggling team here in April, ranking second in the NL in ERA (2.67). Even so, don't rule out some additional help being on Hoyer's to-do list this summer because, as we've already been painfully reminded, there's no such thing as too much depth.