Deadline Watch: Two pitchers emerge as trade options for Cubs

Cabrera is a big-time arm for the Marlins (Jasen Vinlove - USA Today Sports)

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 7 hours ago

Now that the San Francisco Giants opened the trade market by going after Rafael Devers, expect things to pick up in the near future. One of the teams that could be extremely active come the deadline, or even before it, could be the Chicago Cubs, as they continue to cruise through the first half of the MLB season.

Keep in mind this is a team that is down their two best starters in Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga, while also seeing several key bullpen arms go down with injuries. The good news is that Imanaga is expected to return sometime near the end of the month, which will be a huge boost for this team.

However, Steele is not only done for this season, but could miss time to start next season as the Cubs are going to have to fix the top end of their rotation sooner rather than later. You have already heard the names of Chris Sale and Sandy Alcantara mentioned as trade options for Chicago, with Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen as other names to watch.

All of them would be a massive upgrade over Colin Rea and even Ben Brown, but despite those names being the headliners, two more starting pitcher options are popping up as options for the Cubs with Zach Eflin and Edward Cabrera being the latest of the names. Eflin was seen as an offseason target for the Cubs this season, while Cabrera was once a trade target for the Cubs in 2023, so it's understandable why there are some interest and rumors surrounding both names.

Starting with Cabrera and the Cubs, know all too well how good he can be, as some of his best games have come against the Cubs. Armed with a fastball that can touch 98 MPH to go with a low 90s change-up and slider, Cabrera is the definition of a power arm and one who has been viewed as a middle to top of the rotation option.

Keep in mind that he is still just 27 years old, so if he is traded, the Cubs would have an opportunity to keep him long-term, which would be a massive acquisition for this organization. There is no question that Cabrera has always had the potential to be great, as he was once a top-100 prospect after signing with the Marlins back in 2015.

Across his first 14 starts, Cabrera posted a 3.01 ERA and even pitched against the Cubs in the 2020 postseason, where he held them to one run in five innings as part of a no-decision effort. Since that strong start to his career, things have trended in the wrong direction, but his 4.10 ERA this season is a bit misleading as he has pitched better than that this season.

As is the case for many hard throwers, command has always been an issue for Cabrera; however, this season he is seeing his lowest walk rate in years, at just 9.9%. His 25.8% strikeout rate is much lower than you would expect, but he is also posting higher numbers in that category, so you would think someone is going to take that into consideration.

Eflin, on the other hand, is a name that a lot of teams are going to look at come the deadline, especially when you consider his postseason experience. When you look at the 31-year-old and his overall season, no one is going to argue that he is having a horrible season, especially when you look at his career numbers.

A lot of that could stem from the team he is on, as Eflin has proven to be not only a durable arm but also one who is going to give you strong outings every five days. So far this season, he has a 4.08 ERA, but his ERA has improved to 3.45 over his last nine starts. He also spent some time on the IL earlier this season, but despite that, he has still logged 53 innings so far.

Eflin’s strikeout rate is down (16.9%), but so is his walk rate (3.3%), and he’s managing content well enough. He is also coming off a string of three very good starts, which leads some to believe that he may be rounding into form at the right time.

Adding Eflin isn't necessarily a regular-season play, but rather a postseason play, as he is likely to be a gamer when the games are at their most crucial. He is the type of pitcher the Cubs have been lacking in recent seasons, as he is the definition of a bulldog with a winner's mentality.