Breakout All-Star ace named 'best fit' for Cubs by Jeff Passan

This trade deadline’s starting pitching market does not offer many obvious solutions for teams looking for an impact arm. 

Former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara was expected to be the be the prize of the summer, but a 7.12 ERA has sunk his value so much that the Miami Marlins may choose to hold on to him. Former All-Star Zac Gallen has also seen his value sink during a career-worst season, leaving soft-tossing veterans Seth Lugo, Tyler Anderson and Merrill Kelly as the most enticing pending free agents. In terms of controllable starters, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller and Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera are fine mid-rotation options, but with Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan unlikely to be available, there are no frontline arms up for grabs. 

While many teams may accept the market for what it is, the Chicago Cubs cannot afford to play things safe. For the first time since the glory years of the mid-2010s, the Cubs look like legitimate World Series contenders thanks to an offense that ranks in Major League Baseball’s top five in runs scored, home runs, and OPS, but they are in need of a trustworthy third option alongside ace Shota Imanaga and All-Star Matthew Boyd. Furthermore, the Cubs are perfectly positioned for a blockbuster trade thanks to a farm system that features five of MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects and possess a sense of urgency thanks to superstar Kyle Tucker’s looming free agency. 

The Cubs are going to need to get creative at the deadline, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes that Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore would be the ideal move. 

“The Cubs have been one of the best clubs in baseball this season, with an offense that's the envy of teams around the game, and their desire for a top-of-the-rotation-type arm is perhaps the most acute need of any team at this deadline,” Passan wrote. “The Cubs can win the World Series without one, sure, but adding to Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd would give them the sort of comfort legitimate contenders seek at this point in the season.”

Though a blowup in his last start against the San Diego Padres has inflated his numbers, the 26-year-old Gore is in the middle of a breakout season. His 140 strikeouts rank second in the National League and earned his first All-Star appearance thanks to a 3.02 ERA. 

Gore is the kind of controllable ace in their prime that teams dream about building around, but with so many other holes on their roster, the Nationals look years away from contention. Choosing to capitalize on Gore’s peak value and a weak starting pitching market could be in their best interests, and the Cubs can entice them with a package featuring top prospects Owen Cassie and Moisés Ballesteros, neither of whom has a clear place in the Cubs' future plans but would have a pathway to everyday playing time in Washington D.C. 

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