MLB insider singles out a new trade deadline target the Cubs should go all-in for

Fourth of July weekend is upon us, which means it's just a matter of weeks left until the July 31 MLB trade deadline. There are sky-high hopes and expectations surrounding the Chicago Cubs, a big-market team in dire need of pitching reinforcements, along with a handful of more complementary needs.

An ace is at the top of Jed Hoyer's wish list - and rightfully so. Chicago has been connected to a wide range of names, most notably Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins. But give the right-hander hasn't regained his Cy Young form since returning from Tommy John surgery, one national MLB insider suggests the Cubs should shift their focus elsewhere: to the American League Central.

In an appearance on 670 The Score, Jon Morosi left no doubt about what the Cubs must do between now and the deadline.

“The Cubs need to be the Cubs. And by that I mean they need to be the big-market team in the third-largest city in our country and make a massive trade — or at least an impactful one — at the end of July to really address what is their clearest need, which is a legitimate guy to start Game 1 or Game 2 of a postseason series. That’s what the Cubs need, and that’s exactly the kind of move they should make before July 31.”

Cubs have what it takes to swing a trade for Royals' lefty Kris Bubic

And who checks that box in Morosi's mind? Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic.

Bubic, 27, carries a 2.25 ERA and 2.66 FIP through 16 starts this year for the fourth-place Royals, and has found success by generating an elite chase rate driven by his knee-bending breaking ball. He's under team control through 2026, which would give the Cubs an additional year of his services beyond just this summer.

He wouldn't come cheap. One name that could go to Kansas City in a potential trade? Right-hander Ben Brown, who has struggled to find consistency in the Cubs' rotation this year and was recently demoted to Triple-A Iowa after Shota Imanaga returned from the IL. That, by no means, would be the only piece going the other way in a Bubic trade - but given the enticing stuff Brown has shown, his mention will surely get the attention of Cubs fans.

“You hired Craig Counsell to go for it. And now you’ve got a chance to finish ahead of Counsell’s former team and act like a large-market team. For me, Kris Bubic would be the announcement that the Cubs are really serious about winning in 2025.”