![\"Cubs\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2238864265.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs are facing some early troubles despite player better as of late. There is one clear area where they need help.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs<\/a> are starting to heat<\/a> up after a bit of a slow start to the 2026 season. They are now 13-9 and sit in a three-way tie for second place in the National League Central, just 1 1\/2 games back of the Cincinnati Reds.<\/a><\/p>\n The Cubs made some key moves in the offseason, trading for right-hander Edward Cabrera<\/a> and signing slugger Alex Bregman<\/a> in free agency. However, they have been hit hard with some injuries, particularly with their starting rotation.<\/p>\n Cade Horton<\/a> is now out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Matthew Boyd<\/a> and Justin Steele<\/a> are also on the shelf.<\/p>\n Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report<\/a> lists the North Siders as a team that already has a clear hole to fill at the trade deadline. For the Cubs, the clear need is for an impact starting pitcher.<\/p>\n \u201cStatistically, starting pitching has not been an issue for the Cubs so far this season, as they rank ninth in the majors with a 3.58 ERA from the starting staff,\u201d Reuter wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trio of Edward Cabrera (2.38 ERA, 22.2 IP), Shota Imanaga (2.45 ERA, 22.0 IP) and Jameson Taillon (3.97 ERA, 22.2 IP) has been rock solid, but Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd is nursing a biceps strain and the Horton injury has created an early void.<\/p>\n \u201cJavier Assad and Colin Rea are both quality depth options that have helped fill in the gaps, and Justin Steele is expected to make his return from elbow surgery at some point before the All-Star break. Still, one more impact starter will almost certainly be atop the team\u2019s summer wish list.\u201d<\/p>\n Cubs Will Need Impact Starter at Deadline<\/p>\n The trade deadline is still months away, so it is unclear who will be available and what the asking prices will be, and in truth, the Cubs do still have a lot of depth, and when Boyd and Steele come back, they will be getting some reinforcements later this season.<\/p>\n However, that doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t need some help. Starting pitching is always in very high demand at the trade deadline. Even rental starting pitchers can cost a lot of prospects, so the Cubs will have to do their homework and see which starter can help them the most, while also making sure they make a good deal that doesn\u2019t negatively impact their future.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially important because the NL Central is such a tightly packed race<\/a> at the moment. In fact, every team in the division is over .500, and it\u2019s possible that most of the teams in the division will add at the trade deadline. Getting an impact starter could set them apart from the rest of the pack and allow them to ascend to the top of the division by the end of the season.<\/p>\n The last place Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> are 12-9 and sit only two games back of first.<\/p>\n How Cubs Can Survive Until Deadline<\/p>\n Fortunately, the Cubs do have plenty of depth in their system. As Reuter notes, they have Colin Rea and Javier Assad who are good options to fill holes in the rotation. The problem for the Cubs is the quality of starting pitching.<\/p>\n If they want to break through in the tight NL Central, they\u2019ll need that type of arm. That could potentially be what gets them to the top and allows them to win their first division title since 2020. But it\u2019s going to be crucial to find that arm for the rotation with the division being as competitive as it is.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCurt Bishop<\/a> Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who has written for various outlets including Heavy Sports, Sports Illustrated, FanSided, The Sporting News, Newsweek and Yardbarker. His work entails mostly breaking and trending news with a concentration on Major League Baseball (MLB). Curt graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a focus on emerging and new media, as well as a music minor. More about Curt Bishop<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cubs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Chicago Cubs are facing some early troubles despite player better as of late. There is one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-680559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116444595771767645","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}