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3 Chicago Cubs pitchers that the New York Mets may be interested in
Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is expected to be out until July after undergoing bone graft surgery on his rib. After enjoying a bounce-back season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals last season, Quintana signed a two-year deal worth $26MM with the New York Mets this offseason.
For the Mets, the team may be in the market for a starting pitcher. The Mets' starting rotation consists of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, and Kodai Senga. While the Mets do have capable replacements for Quintana in-house with options such as David Peterson or Tylor Megill, there is no question that the team may want to add another arm in the event of an injury.
For the Cubs, the team has spent this offseason stockpiling arms that are capable of being in a Major League Starting rotation. Adrian Sampson, Roenis Elias, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski, Caleb Killian, Keegan Thompson, and Adbert Alzolay are among the arms that the Cubs have that have had starting experience at the Major League level.
Wesneski, Thompson, and Killian likely aren't candidates to be moved given the idea that the Cubs' long-term pitching staff is. It is also important to remember that starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks is expected to be back in the rotation around May.
Assuming Hendricks returns and is healthy, the Cubs are going to have some difficult decisions in regard to their pitching staff. Wesneski seems likely to be the team's fifth starter to open the season and that may make Sampson available in a trade. Sampson is among the pitchers that the Mets could express interest in if they are seeking pitching depth in light of the Quintana injury.
3 Chicago Cubs pitchers that New York Mets may be interested in - Adrian Sampson
Sampson was terrific for the Cubs last season as injuries forced him into the team's starting rotation for most of the 2022 campaign. Sampson appeared in 21 games overall, 19 starts, and posted a 3.11 ERA in 104.1 innings pitched. Given the success that Sampson had last season, the Cubs brought back the starting pitcher on a one-year deal with the idea being that he could be a part of the team's starting rotation to begin the season.
At the start of Spring Training, Cubs manager David Ross listed Sampson along with Hayden Wesneski and Javier Assad. Wesneski has thrived in Spring Training and that has placed him in a strong position to be the team's fifth starter at the start of the season. The emergence of Wesneski has put Sampson's spot with the Major League team in Jeopardy and a trade could be likely before Opening Day.
3 Chicago Cubs pitchers that New York Mets may be interested in - Adbert Alzolay
At the start of 2021 season, the idea was that the Chicago Cubs were developing Adbert Alzolay to be a long-term fixture in the team's starting rotation. After posting a 4.58 ERA in 125.2 innings pitched in 2021, the 2022 campaign figured to be an important mark in Alzolay's career, however, a shoulder injury forced the starting pitcher to miss most of the season. Alzolay returned in September and pitched exclusively out of the bullpen where he posted a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched.
It would appear that the Cubs prefer Alzolay to pitch out of the bullpen as he will be used, at least to begin the season, exclusively as a reliever. While Alzolay has the pitch mix and velocity to be an effective reliever, it is possible that the other teams may value him more as a long-term starting pitcher. The Mets could be one of those teams.
3 Chicago Cubs pitchers that the New York Mets may be interested in - Kyle Hendricks
For as much as Kyle Hendricks has meant to the Chicago Cubs starting rotation since he made his Major League debut in 2014, the Cubs are entering a season in 2023 where they are not dependent on Hendricks being at the top of their starting rotation. Sure, a healthy Hendricks could easily slide back into the starting rotation but Hendricks has struggled while on the mound over the course of the past two seasons. Hendricks posted a 4.77 ERA in 2021 before having a 4.80 ERA last season. Hendricks' 2022 season was cut short last July and he is expected to be ready for a return by May.
The first four in the Cubs' starting rotation include Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele, and Drew Smyly. Hayden Wesneski appears ready for the starting rotation and could emerge as a true top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher by the end of the season. The Cubs have depth behind those five pitchers and that could very well be the reason why the team may not be against the idea of trading Hendricks. The Mets could withstand Hendricks not being ready until May and then he would give the team added depth in the event that there is an injury on Jose Quintana suffers a setback.
Next. Dansby Swanson off to slow start in Cubs Spring Training. dark