Chicago Cubs trade idea bags them 2-time Cy Young ace

The Chicago Cubs are desperate for starting pitching—or, at least, they should be.

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With a very definite window of contention and, almost literally, no reliable starting pitching left after a likely free agent mass exodus, the Cubs need to come up big this offseason. They not only need multiple warm bodies for the rotation, but they also need an ace to sit atop it all and lead the team through 2027.

Jacob deGrom to the Cubs?

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Could the Texas Rangers’ Jacob deGrom be that ace?

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently proposed several wild trade ideas ahead of hot stove league activity, listing a deGrom-to-the-Cubs deal at the very top spot.

Per Rymer:

“Why the Cubs? Well, why not the Cubs?

Nobody needs an ace starter like they do, and they need not be scared of the 38-year-old’s 4.20 ERA from this season. He maintained an elite 30.1 K%, and joining the Cubs would promise a boost he can’t get anywhere else: MLB’s best defense.

The cash going to the Cubs would have to be ample. Say, $30 million of deGrom’s $37 million salary for the sake of buying out his negative surplus value.

In this case, the Rangers would basically be buying a top-100 prospect from the Cubs in the form of Ayers.

Steele would be more of a throw-in after missing all of 2026 and most of 2025, but he would have appeal as a trade chip for 2027. He was an All-Star and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting in 2023, then posted a 3.07 ERA in 2024.”

The price for deGrom

And what would it take for the Cubs to get the veteran two-time Cy Young Award winner and five-time All-Star starter?

Rymer has the Cubs sending over pitcher Justin Steele and highly-regarded catching prospect Owen Ayers.

There’s a lot to unpack in this trade proposal. The biggest question mark from Chicago’s side, though, is why the Cubs would trade a potential front-of-rotation starter in Steele when they need all the starting pitching they can get. Steele has missed almost two full seasons following elbow surgery and a subsequent setback in recovery, but he’s expected to be fully healthy come springtime. When healthy, he’s not only been the Cubs’ best starting pitcher over the course of several years, but he’s been one of baseball’s most solid starters as well.

Another point of interest is whether deGrom, who has a full no trade clause in his Rangers contract, would even approve such a deal. Last season at the trade deadline, he refused to be swapped. Maybe he changes his mind in what could be the last year of his contract and sees a clearer path to looking good on the Cubs. That’s a big maybe.

But would the Cubs even dare to take on all or most of deGrom’s $37 million contract for 2027, knowing that a mutual option awaits them the following season? Steele, in contrast, is making $6.8 million for what may also be his last season before free agency.

At the very least, deGrom coming to Chicago is an interesting thought as the World Series wraps up and a long offseason awaits.

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