Cubs Trade Ideas Lands Former Two-Time All-Star Pitcher Luis Severino

Cubs Trade Ideas Lands Former Two-Time All-Star Pitcher Luis Severino originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Despite injuries to their aces, the Chicago Cubs’ starting pitching has performed well in 2025, led by Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga when he has been healthy.

However, the Cubs have had to lean on three young starters in Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Cade Horton after Justin Steele went out for the season in April, and Imanaga has been dealing with a hamstring injury.

The young pitchers have been able to get the job done, for the most part, but how long will that last?

The last five games may be an early sign that the Cubs won’t be able to rely on that production for the second half of the season.

The Cubs have lost four of their last five games, and their starters have given up 28 runs (25 earned) over their last 24 innings pitched.

Imanaga is scheduled to return soon, which will give the Cubs some relief. However, the Cubs need to make an addition before the trade deadline to strengthen their starting pitching.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) watches players warm up during spring training camp.Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan proposed the idea of Athletics pitcher Luis Severino being a potential trade target for the Cubs.

Severino has plenty of experience in the league, playing in his 10th year in MLB. The starting pitcher’s overall stats don’t look overly appealing on the season with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.338 WHIP.

However, when you look at Severino’s home and road splits, they tell an entirely different story. The veteran starter has an ERA of 6.79 in his home starts, but when he’s on the road, his ERA is a stellar 0.93.

Severino has been lights out when on the road in 2025, and pitched eight innings of one-run baseball in his lone start against the Cubs’ division rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, earlier this year.

While you wouldn’t expect Severino to be able to keep up his sub-one ERA on a regular basis in a Cubs uniform, you would expect his overall numbers to drastically improve when none of his starts would come in the Athletics’ ballpark anymore.

The Cubs need to add a reliable starter before the trade deadline to make a World Series run, and Severino would provide that. The only thing is Severino’s contract. The Athletics starter is in the first year of a three-year, $67 million deal, which would be a high price to pay.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.

Cubs Trade Ideas Lands Former Two-Time All-Star Pitcher Luis Severino

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