3 ace level starters the Chicago Cubs could trade for this year

The Chicago Cubs are off to a great start to the season, coming off four street series wins which concluded with a 3-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics. The team's pitching staff is near the top of the league in ERA, and there is plenty of starting depth in the minor league system to sustain the big league roster. However, the Cubs could use some ace-level stuff at the top of the staff, a guy who can go out there every fifth day and deal. With the Cubs playing well, and plenty of prospects to deal with, here are three top-shelf starting pitchers the Cubs should go after this deadline.

1. Sandy Alcantara

Sandy Alcantara is coming off a career year in 2022 where he secured his first Cy Young award in commanding fashion. The 6'5 right-hander threw a league-leading 228.2 innings with a 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts. With a repertoire of a blazing fastball that can touch 100 mph, a power sinker, a circle change as well as a slider and curveball, Alcantara's five-pitch mix is deadly and proves to be too much for many hitters.

The kind of upper-90s fastball that Alcantara boasts is exactly what the Cubs need at the top of their rotation. Perhaps, more importantly, is Alcantara's dexterity, as he turned in back-to-back 30-start seasons over the past two years with a truly impressive 7 complete games in that time. Alcantara has the power, the stuff, and the inning-eating ability to solidify the Cubs' starting rotation, and he is under team control through the 2027 season. The Miami Marlins have said they are unwilling to trade Alcantara, but they have been perennial sellers for many years at this point and they could benefit from what the Cubs have to offer.