It's that time of year again for baseball. The Hot Stove League is underway, with wild speculation about which teams will make trades and sign free agents. The MLB newsletter says the Cubs will be the second most active team (behind the Giants). This is what they wrote...
By season's end, the Cubs' pitching staff included four pitchers who started 30 or more games in the Majors in 2017. Two of them -- Arrieta and John Lackey -- are free agents now, leaving Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer with the task of replacing 60 starts. The July trade for Jose Quintana diminished the Cubs' already dwindling prospect depth, meaning any trade for a starting pitcher this offseason could cost a young Major League regular, such as Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell or Ian Happ.
Ervin Santana will be among the most sought-after names on the trade market for starting pitching, but it may be difficult for the improving Twins to move him coming off a postseason berth. The Tigers likely would insist on multiple young players from the Cubs' Major League roster in any deal for right-hander Michael Fulmer. Regardless, look for the Cubs to aggressively pursue starting pitching, and possibly a closer as well with Davis set to hit the market.
