Top Trade Targets for the Chicago Cubs

With an offseason plan to bolster pitching depth, improving the bench, and determining how big-league prospects factor into the Chicago Cub plans for 2026, the trade market will be paramount to how the Cubs improve the roster for a legitimate run at a World Series title. The core questions are “which players make the Cubs better for 2026 and how can the Cubs capitalize their big league ready prospects to improve the roster via trade?”

The Chicago Cubs put together a starting rotation that ranked towards the top in the National League (5th in ERA, 1st in BB/9), but outside of the emergence of rookie of the year runner-up Cade Horton, lacked the type of pitching that a World Series contender needs.  Jed Hoyer tried to acquire that type of pitching at the deadline, but failed to bring in that ace that the pitching staff so desperately needed. But now with multiple arms available through trade, Hoyer could bring that coveted arm to the rotation.

Not Your Average Joe

Joe Ryan has anchored a few competitive Twins teams and has established himself as not just the Ace of the staff, but also one of the better starters in the American League.  Across five MLB seasons, the California native has collected an All-Star nod, accumulated 11 WAR (highlighted by his career-best 4.5 WAR in 2025), compiled a 3.79 career ERA and has logged 140+ innings in three of the last four seasons.  With those numbers, it's easy to decipher why teams were calling the Twins about their talented right hander at the deadline.  And while a deal was never made for Ryan, the Cubs did swing a deal for the multi-positional Willi Castro, and besides bringing Castro to Chicago, Jed built some rapport with the decision makers in Minnesota and with the Twins in rebuild mode, Jed could leverage that relationship to get a deal done for Ryan.

Taking a look at what it would take to bring Ryan to Chicago, we can look at what the San Diego Padres had given up for Dylan Cease in 2024.  Looking at Ryan's stats and Cease’s career numbers prior to being traded from the White Sox to San Diego, we see that both had similar numbers.  Both Ryan and Cease have won 8 or more games than they lost, they both have similar WAR numbers, and both rated slightly higher than 10% better than the rest of the league according to ERA+.

Statistic	Joe Ryan (MIN) Career (2021-2025)	Dylan Cease (CHW) Career (2019-2023)
Wins - Losses	46-36	43-35
ERA	3.79	3.83
WAR	11.0	11.5
Games Started	114	123
Innings Pitched	641.1	608.0
Strikeouts	719	748
Walks	148	294
WHIP	1.063	1.298
ERA+	111	112

In the deal that sent Cease to southern California, the White Sox received SP Drew Thorpe (MLB.com’s No. 85 prospect, SD’s No. 5), OF Samuel Zavala (SD’s No. 7), SP Jairo Iriarte (SD’s No. 8), and RP Steven Wilson).  A hefty package, but one that gave both sides equal value for the talented Cease.  Using the Cease package as a basis for a Joe Ryan trade to the Cubs, the package could look like this:

Cubs Acquire:

SP Joe Ryan

Twins Acquire:

SP Jaxon Wiggins (Cubs No. 3, MLB.com’s 67 overall prospect)

OF Kevin Alcantara (Cubs No. 5)

1B Jonathon Long (Cubs No. 7)

RP Luke Little

With similar players in the Cubs system, the North Siders could offer a very competitive package for the California native’s services.

If the Cubs made the move for Ryan, he would immediately add not just depth, but make the Cubs’ one-two punch of Horton and Ryan one of MLB’s best duo’s, and with a healthy Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Tallion/Matthew Boyd the Cubs could have a top five rotation in all of baseball.  

Mac and K’s

As discussed in a previous article, MacKenzie Gore could blossom into the star that he was once thought to become as a member of the Chicago Cubs. The former third overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft has always had tremendous upside.  He features big strike out stuff with a blazing fastball and a knack for keeping hitters off base with a devastating breaking ball.  

The Cubs entered discussions for the lefty starter during the 2025 trade deadline, but never got a deal together.  @MoccBomb on X.com had reported that the Nationals wanted a package of Owen Caissie (Cubs No. 1), Moises Bastelleros (Cubs No. 2), Jonathon Long (Cubs No. 6) and Christian Hernandez (Cubs No. 11) for the lefty (prospects are ranked as they were at the trade deadline). 

The Cubs were unwilling to move Caissie in the deal and it seemed as though that the Nats were unwilling to move Gore without Caissie being in the return package.  Now, after Gore struggled down the stretch and has just two years of team control remaining, the price has dropped.  A package for the strikeout artist could look similar, but most likely won’t include Caissie:

Cubs Acquire:

MacKenzie Gore

Nationals Acquire:

Kevin Alcantara (Cubs No. 5) 

Jonathon Long (Cubs No. 7)

James Triantos (Cubs No. 10)

Christian Hernandez (Cubs No. 11)

The Nationals are in need of young, MLB ready talent to jump start their rebuild with a new general manager and manager. Alcantara is a talented outfielder who is blocked in Chicago and could start for the Nationals on opening day.  The same could be said for Triantos and Long.  Triantos doesn’t have a clear path of playing time with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner holding down the middle infield and with Michael Busch coming off 30+ HR, Long also doesn’t have a runway for playing time.  While Hernandez hasn’t lived up to the status of a former top international free agent singing, at just 21 years-old, he still has upside as a wizard defensively and can provide immense value on the base paths (52 stolen bases in 2025)

Bolstering the Pen from Unlikely Trade Partners

The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies have both made their way to a World Series, and even played each other in the 2023 NLCS, but neither one has won baseball's biggest prize in that time, a World Series title. The Phillies and Diamondbacks are now at a crossroads, albeit in different ways.  With Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly off the roster and clear holes in their pitching staff and lineup, the Diamondbacks are searching for ways to improve their roster to make it back to the fall classic, while the Phillies are trying to offload some salary to either bring back Kyle Schwarber or pursue one of the top free agents. The Cubs could swing a pair of deals to help both of these franchises.

Rumors had started that the Cubs were looking into a possible trade for either Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly trade but did not have the pitching that Arizona wanted in return (Arizona acquired seven pitchers across 3 trades at the deadline in 2025). But with their shelves stocked with young arms (Arizona drafted 14 arms and acquired seven at the deadline), the Diamondbacks could offload a reliever to bolster their lineup. 

A.J. Puk has turned himself into one of the better lefty bullpen arms in baseball.  His intimidating 6’7” 250 lb frame and his high 90’s fastball have resulted in Puk having a 3.38 ERA in 190 games since being a full time big leaguer. While it might seem unorthodox to move a valued piece such as Puk while trying to build a contender, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen had this to say when asked about moving his big league pieces, primarily Ketel Marte: “We field questions on all of our really good players. Hazen added by stating “I have to do my job. I have to listen to what people have to say. How that gets characterized out there is out of my control."

While the rumor mill has been quiet on whether or not the Diamondbacks would be interested in moving Puk, it seems as though it’s not completely off the table, and with the Cubs in need of high leverage arms, Puk could fit right in. The price for Puk might not cost the Cubs much as the lefty is coming off internal brace surgery and only has 1 year left on his deal.

Cubs Acquire:

A.J. Puk

Diamondbacks Acquire:

Kevin Alcantara (Cubs No. 5)

Alcantara’s name will come up more than once in potential trades with the Chicago Cubs (as seen in these potential trade packages). The speedy outfielder has produced at every level at the minor leagues and has shown flashes. But Alcantara only has one option left and with how crowded the Cubs outfield is, it would be prudent to move him for a piece like Puk.  For the Diamondbacks, their outfield isn’t as crowded.  Corbin Carrol in right field is a star and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left is an above average bat with 20 homerun power. Center field however, has been a struggle for the Diamondbacks to get consistent play.  Alek Thomas has taken the lionshare of innings in center field and has been worth less than three WAR across four major league seasons. Alcantara can play all three outfield spots and with his range and arm talent, finding a permanent home in centerfield won’t be hard in Chase Field’s big outfield.

Former Cy Young Winner Makes His Way to Wrigley

In the sumer of 2022, Sandy Alcantara turned in one of the better single season pitching performances of the last decade.  His 8 bWAR ranked atop the league for pitchers, finished with a 2.28 ERA, selected to the All-Star game (the second of his career), pitched over 220 innings, struck out four batters for every one he walked, and took home the coveted Cy Young award. Sandy had put himself amongst the best of the league that season and had many wondering whether or not he’d be traded as the Marlins finished 2022 with just 69 wins.  But after a 4.14 ERA in 2023 and missing the entirety of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, the righty hasn’t regained his 2022 form, but showed flashes of that once great season in 2025.

While finishing with an ERA over 5 is never ideal, Alcantara started 2025 as one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball with an ERA mark of 7.22 after 18 starts. But it’s his second half that might entice teams to trade for Alcantara as he would pitch to the tune of a 3.33 ERA in his final 13 starts and striking out 3.5 batters for every walk issued. Add in the fact that the righty made 31 starts after missing the entirety of 2024, and there's a case that he could be high on teams’ list as a trade candidate.

Sandy had regained form for the Marlins and showed that he still had plenty left in the tank. Alcantara is under contract for ‘26 at $17.3 million and as a team option for ‘27 for $21 million. That $17.3 million price tag for a pitcher on the wrong side of 30 and only had 13 starts of good play seems like a steep price. But with the pitching depth the Marlins have and with the Cubs in a position to have the money to be able to take on that contract, a trade could work in both sides favor.

Cubs Acquire:

Sandy Alcantara

Cash

Marlins Acquire:

Jonathon Long (Cubs No. 7)

James Triantos (Cubs No. 10)

Will Sanders (Cubs No. 23)

The Cubs sending over a plug and play 1B in Jonathon Long gives the Marlins a solid first base option and an upgrade over Eric Wagaman who had an OPS under .700, a talented infielder in James Triantos who could compete for a starting job at 2B, and an arm in Will Sanders who could be a do-it-all righty to log bulk innings for a young and up and coming team. On the flip side, the Marlins kicking in some cash to soften the $17.3 million coming back the Cubs way allows them to bring back another prospect and gives the Cubs a player who fills out their rotation nicely and gives them the flexibility to bring Sandy back on a discounted salary if Sandy pitches like his 2022 self with the Cubs.