Tarik Skubal trade would give Cubs their best postseason stopper in a decade

Tarik Skubal is the best player available this summer. At the same time, the Chicago Cubs are the most pitching-needy team in the league. Hence, there's been no shortage of rumors connecting the player and team as a "perfect fit" at the trade deadline.

There's also no shortage of Cubs fans that are clamoring for a Skubal-sized blockbuster this summer, knowing that, much like last year in the NLDS, the lack of high-quality pitching depth figures to be the team's downfall come October. The problem is that a trade of this magnitude is just way outside of Jed Hoyer's wheelhouse (at least during the season), which is why we have to hesitate every time we see a report suggesting that they're in on the southpaw.

And yet, this is the kind of player you break the mold for.

Cubs must choose quality over quantity at the trade deadline and go all-in on Tarik Skubal

There are some merits to Hoyer deploying his patented quantity-over-quality deadline approach and acquiring a litany of fringe major-league arms in hopes that one or two stick. The Cubs' pitching staff has been decimated by injuries over and over again, and acquiring Skubal only to see him succumb to an injury of his own (à la Michael Soroka a year ago) would be perhaps the most devastating moment in franchise history this side of the 2003 NLCS.

But fear cannot control your actions, at least when you're trying to overthrow the dynastic Los Angeles Dodgers, who are aiming for a three-peat. Skubal isn't just a surefire Game 1 starter who would reset the hierarchy of the playoff rotation; he'd be the most dominant force on the mound the Cubs have had since 2015 Jake Arrieta.

Unless you were too young to remember that 2015 NL Wild Card Game, that vintage Arrieta performance was maybe the most badass moment in Cubs history. He told Pirates fans (via Twitter) before the game that "Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know, it doesn't matter," and then shoved in such a manner that it made anyone who had even a modicum of doubt about the outcome seem foolish.

Working with a pitch count of "infinity" per manager Joe Maddon, the soon-to-be-named Cy Young winner fired an 11-strikeout shutout in the winner-takes-all contest against a 98-win team. There hasn't been a Cubs victory that hasn't felt that inevitable since... until and unless they acquire Skubal at the deadline.

His credentials hardly need recounting, but the two-time reigning AL Cy Young has pitched to a 2.46 ERA (2.43 FIP) since the start of the 2023 season, which covers his last 564 innings. Because of that, he'll cost a fortune at the deadline, and then an even bigger fortune in free agency.

More than likely, he'll be "too expensive" for the Cubs to re-sign. This would be an all-in gambit for the 2026 season. But if there's any hope of withstanding the full force of the Dodgers and Brewers in October, you need some star power of your own. Skubal, more than anyone else in baseball, is capable of bringing that to Chicago.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow