Red Sox just gave Jed Hoyer an excuse to make the Cubs worse

The Cubs' biggest need at the onset of the season was the same as their biggest need at the trade deadline, and it remains the same right now: starting pitching.

There's no secret that Chicago's starting rotation -- though impressive at times -- has been unreliable all year long. For every great Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga start, there's been a Jameson Taillon injury or Ben Brown walk-a-palooza around the next corner.

The team, of course, failed to fill that hole at the trade deadline, bringing in just Michael Soroka... who subsequently got hurt just two innings into his Cubs tenure.

With the team currently forced to run Javier Assad and Colin Rea out as two-fifths of the rotation (not to mention Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks as 25% of the bullpen), there's an obvious and pressing need for some more starting pitching depth before the home stretch.

But, there's a difference between needing able-bodied starters and good starters. And though the Red Sox just made one available, he's certainly more of the former than the latter.

Walker Buehler isn't the starting pitcher the Cubs need for playoff push

At first glance, Buehler doesn't appear to be that bad of a fit with the Cubs.

It's true that the rotation option pickings are really slim right now. I mean, the Brewers had to resort to signing Erick Fedde to a major league contract for goodness' sake.

Plus, assuming the Cubs (or any team, for that matter) get him on the roster by Labor Day on September 1, Buehler would be eligible for the postseason for his new squad. And we only need to turn our attention to last year to remember just how dominant the former Dodger can be when the October lights are shining.

But Buehler isn't the same pitcher who hurled the final out of the 2024 World Series, and he certainly isn't the same pitcher who finished top-10 in NL Cy Young voting in 2019 and 2021.

In 112 1/3 frames this year, he's surrendered a 5.45 ERA that actually looks manageable compared to his 5.88 FIP. He's allowing more than a hit per winning, and his walk rate has spiked to 10.8%, hence his grotesque 1.56 WHIP. Add it all up, and he's been a negative contributor for the Red Sox this season, no matter who you ask (-0.7 fWAR, -0.9 bWAR).

Sure, the Cubs need arms, but they already have a carousel of guys who can give them below-average innings. Signing Buehler with the hopes that he'll respond to a change of scenery (and proximity to the postseason) registers as nothing more than a desperation move for a team that can already throw Ben Brown or Jordan Wicks to the wolves.

Let's put it like this: Old friend (and pitching wiz) Craig Breslow is the man currently running the Red Sox. He learned from this current Cubs front office before taking his new gig in Boston. If he determined that Buehler wasn't good enough to hold onto during a postseason push, why should the Cubs feel any differently?