Chicago Cubs News: Starting pitching market, Shohei Ohtani, and more

There has been an early run on starting pitchers during the opening weeks of Major League Baseball free agency and a team like the Chicago Cubs may need to act soon or risk losing out.

The Cubs were believed to be in the market for two starting pitchers this off-season with the idea being that one addition would sit near the top of the starting rotation while the second addition likely would stabilize the backend of the rotation.

To that end, the Cubs may be missing on some of their initial targets. While it is unlikely that the Cubs were interested in Lance Lynn, who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, there likely was some interest in Kyle Gibson. Gibson will be joining Lynn on the Cardinals' next season as he signed a one-year deal with the team on Tuesday.

At the top end of the market, Aaron Nola returned to the Philadelphia Phillies.

One possible name for the Cubs as they look for another top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher is Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is coming off a career year with the Tigers where he posted an ERA+ of 134 (100 is considered average with anything above being good). Rodriguez likely won't cost as much as Blake Snell or Yoshinobu Yamamoto and that could be enticing for the Cubs.

Local Insider continues to push the Chicago Cubs being in on Shohei Ohtani

Marquee Sports Network's MLB insider Bruce Levine continues to push the idea that the Chicago Cubs will be in on Shohei Ohtani.

Will the St. Louis Cardinals land Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

For a team that does have a need for top-end starting pitching, the Cardinals took a curious approach by signing two veterans in Lynn and Gibson who will need some fine-tuning. Those aren't the type of moves that a team makes with the expectation that their starting pitching need will be addressed.

Though, perhaps, the Cardinals think they are landing Yamamoto...

If Cardinals do indeed sign Yamamoto, then the signings of Lynn and Gibson make far more sense.

Chicago Cubs promote Jared Banner

Jared Banner is rewarded for the ascension of the Cubs' farm system. Cubs' vice president of scouting, Dan Kantrovitz, likely is a leading internal candidate to be bumped up to vice president of player development.

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