Local insider predicts this Chicago Cubs trade will happen this week

The Chicago Cubs have been linked to Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow for much of the past two weeks as the team looks to address their need at the top of their rotation.

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the Rays will be moving Glasnow this off-season as he is set to earn $25MM during the final year of his contract with the team.

Local MLB Insider Bruce Levine is covering Winter Meetings this week for 670 The Score and the Marquee Sports Network and predicted that the Cubs will trade for Glasnow by the end of the week.

Glasnow is the perfect trade target for the Cubs. Of course, Glasnow can not be mentioned without bringing up his injury history. Glasnow has only pitched in over 120 innings in a season once in his career and that was last year. There is no doubt that if Glasnow was being viewed as an addition to be the long-term fixture at the top of the Cubs' rotation, there would be questions involved.

That is not the case. The Cubs don't have a long-term need for a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher given the prospects they have in the waiting. Top pitching prospects Ben Brown and Cade Horton are expected to be pitching at Wrigley Field by the end of the 2024 season and if the team does sign Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani will take the top spot in the rotation in 2025.

Assuming the Cubs take on the $25MM, the cost to acquire Glasnow from the Rays will not represent the true value he brings the team when on the pitching mound. It's a risk that the Cubs can and should take this off-season as they look to return to legitimate contention in 2024.

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