Proposed Cubs Mason Miller trade demonstrates sky-high cost of fixing the bullpen

Addressing the pitching staff will be Jed Hoyer's top priority this offseason after the Chicago Cubs suffered an immediate exit from the MLB playoffs after a lackluster September saw them cough up the top NL Wild Card spot to the San Diego Padres.

The Friars made quick work of Craig Counsell's club, flipping the script after the Cubs knocked them out last October. The Cubs' offense went ice-cold, looking completely outmatched by the Padres' pitching but the Chicago arms were arguably just as big of a weakness in the series.

One potential solution to fixing the staff? Finally pull off a long-desired trade and bring in Padres' All-Star closer Mason Miller in a blockbuster.

A new set of Mason Miller trade proposal rankings over at FanSided includes a potential offer from the Cubs and, while it is far from insignificant, at first glance, it feels light to me.

In the hypothetical trade, the Cubs send top prospect and MLB Pipeline #35 overall talent Josiah Hartshorn and top pitching prospet Jaxon Wiggins to San Diego in exchange for Miller, who can be controlled through 2029 and would be the team's best late-inning threat in a decade.

I've tempered my expectations on Wiggins given his checkered health history, so coming off him, especially in a deal for Miller, isn't overly concerning to me. The right-hander got a late start to the season and finished the year making 22 appearances (11 starts) across three levels of the system, the bulk of which came at Iowa.

At Triple-A, Wiggins posted a 7.83 ERA in 33 1/3 innings of work, striking out better than a batter per inning but really struggling with control. He'll likely open the 2027 season back in Des Moines, looking to deliver more consistency and better results.

Any Mason Miller trade is going to demand Cubs' top prospect and more

The big loss here is Hartshorn, who rocketed up prospect rankings boards this year, climbing from A-ball to Double-A, batting a cumulative .284/.407/.518 in 562 plate appearances with 23 home runs, 26 doubles and 112 RBI. He could be a long-term piece in the Cubs' future alongside likely 2026 NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, but any big-time deal is going to come with him as the asking price.

That's similar to when the Padres sent top prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics to headline the package that initially brought Miller to San Diego. You don't get that type of pitcher without coming off your top prospect, so if you really feel he's the difference-maker you've been searching for, you need to come to terms with trading someone like Hartshorn.

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