Chicago Cubs Rumors: Oft-rumored target Tyler Glasnow available via trade again

A familiar name in the Chicago Cubs rumor mill each off-season is expected to be made available once again this winter.

The Cubs have had an interest in acquiring starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays dating back to the 2021 Major League Baseball trade deadline and they may once again have an opportunity to acquire the starting pitcher.

The Rays are expected to shed salary this off-season and that leads to the rumor from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that Glasnow likely will be a name mentioned in trade discussions this winter.

"The team will have a different look, as it always does, when reassembling in February in Port Charlotte, as team officials weigh salaries against performances, as well as current need vs. future projections. Top salaried pitcher Tyler Glasnow (a team-record $25 million) and position player Manuel Margot ($10 million) seem likely to be in trade discussions."

- Marc Topkin via Tampa Bay Times

As the Cubs were looking for creative ways to package their available superstars at the 2021 trade deadline, one deal discussed was a package of Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel to the Rays for an injured Glasnow at the time.

Tyler Glasnow has been a popular name in the Chicago Cubs rumor mill over the course of recent off-seasons and that will be the case once again this winter.

2023 was Glasnow's first full season since he underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2021 and he returned to form by posting a 3.53 ERA, 2.91 FIP, in 120 innings with a strikeout rate of 33.4%.

Glasnow signed a two-year extension with the Rays prior to this season worth $30.25MM and a bulk of that will be paid out in 2024 as he carries a base salary of $25MM next season.

Acquiring Glasnow would certainly address the Cubs' need for a true top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher to go along with Justin Steele. More important, Glasnow is a power pitcher in that his average fastball velocity last season was 96.5 mph and that would be a rarity for a Cubs' rotation that is reliant on movement as opposed to velocity.

There is an expectation that the Cubs will be willing to enter the luxury tax in 2024 and if they are willing to eat most if not all of the $25MM that Glasnow is owed next season, that could lead to the much-desired creative deal that they were looking to make with the Rays in 2021.

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