Jed Hoyer, coming into the off-season, had been clear about one thing—they need to amp up their ace game. At the recent GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Jed Hoyer said, “I think the largest focus will be on pitching; I think that’s obvious looking at our depth chart.” And given their postseason struggles with pitching, it was a given.

Except maybe they were too late to make the jump because the biggest names that they were connected to are both off the market. Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce have both joined the Jay gang, and this puts the Cubs in a precarious position.

But there is still one player whom they might want to turn their attention to, that is, if the Yankees don’t get to him first, and that’s Edward Cabrera.

In fact, even podcasters and experts like Jim Riley, like BALLCAP Sports, pitched the Cubs to get him. “Really like the idea of Cabrera to the Blue Jays. But the Jays signed Ponce, and the Jays signed Cease, so that’s not going to happen… The Chicago Cubs are one team I need to add another pitcher to.”

Now, the 27-year-old Edward Cabrera of the Miami Marlins is not new to the trade rumors. He has been a piece in it since last season. Even before the trade deadline, the Cubs were connected to making a potential deal for him.

For the Cubs, the sticking point might be the fact that Cabrera has three more years of control left. So he is an attractive long-term option for a team that’s in need of pitching depth.

Moreover, Cabrera has shown plenty of promise as a potential front-of-the-rotation starter. In 2025, he posted a solid 3.36 ERA over 30 starts and 169 innings pitched. His strikeout rate was good enough, too, with 9.5 K/9, and he had a WHIP of 1.23.

Sure, he had some red flags, like his walk rate and home run rate; both need improvement. But his stuff is undeniable. His fastball ends up regularly sitting in the 90s, and his breaking pitches have been effective.

The Chicago Cubs, moreover, need it at the moment. Given that Imanaga and Cubs declined the contractual option, he will be gone in a year. Plus, Justin Steele would be back at some point in the middle of the season, so there is no certainty as of now. Also, Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton may have performed well last season, but they are injury-prone, and some regression could be seen in the coming season.

For the Cubs, Cabrera could provide exactly what they need: a young and controllable arm with the potential to become a top-of-the-rotation starter.

But even then, a backup plan for this Plan B should be there—and there is a name floating around, but not everyone is convinced.

Is Kris Bubic really the frontline arm the Chicago Cubs need?

Another name that’s floating around for the Cubs is the Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic. On the surface, it sounds good, but if you dig a little deeper, the fit becomes far less convincing. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma was asked recently whether the Cubs should make a move for Bubic, and while he did acknowledge Bubic and his progress, he didn’t endorse the Cubs’ idea.

“Bubic alone is a quality pitcher,” Sharma wrote. “He had a really solid 20 starts for the Kansas City Royals last summer, and he had been identified as a pitcher who could break out. Now he has. But is he what the Cubs really need?” He also raised a major red flag—Bubic is coming off a shoulder injury, and there is a real uncertainty about how this will affect him going forward.

To be fair, Bubic is coming off a great season, and then it was cut short. He finished 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA and struck out 116 batters in 116.1 innings. His 2.89 FIP and 1.178 WHIP are strong underlying numbers. That’s what earned him his first All-Star nod after all.

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But context matters, and Bubic is a late bloomer, and he struggled early in his career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and worked out of the bullpen in 2024. His career numbers of 4.14 ERA do paint a shaky picture.

He also has control issues and has just one year of club control left, so a trade package seems less likely, especially for a pitcher with a lengthy injury history. So maybe the Cubs are better off looking elsewhere!