Let’s pivot from looking at possible Cubs free agent signings and instead, check out some starting pitchers who will likely be available by trade.
Some of these guys were the same starters that many teams,
including the Cubs, tried to acquire at last summer’s deadline. Exactly zero of these pitchers were traded, reportedly because the asking prices were way too high. This is what Jed Hoyer said about that in his season-end presser:
“You’re constantly thinking about what else you could do,” Hoyer said. “That’s natural. But I do feel like, when I think back on the most obvious thing that people talk about — starting pitching at the Trade Deadline — honestly, I haven’t really thought about that much since early August, because I know what the market was and how tight the starting-pitching market was.
“I know to acquire players that could impact a pennant race, it would’ve cost us players that impacted our second half in a big way on the team.”
So that was the case for pitchers like Sandy Alcántara, Edward Cabrera, Mitch Keller, MacKenzie Gore and Joe Ryan, five of the bigger names mentioned in trade rumors last summer.
Let’s look at Ryan. He was a Rays seventh-round draft pick out of Cal State Stanislaus (yes, that’s a real place) in 2018. In 2021 the Rays sent him to the Twins as part of a deal that brought Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay.
Ryan made his MLB debut Sept. 1, 2021 at Target Field against the Cubs, and allowed three runs in five innings. I post that boxscore link mainly to show you how much the Cubs have changed in four years. Only two of the 11 Cubs who played in that game are still in the organization (Ian Happ, Justin Steele). Then Ryan faced the Cubs again three weeks later at Wrigley Field and struck out 11 — and of the 17 Cubs who played in that game, again just two remain (Happ and Nico Hoerner).
Anyway. Ryan has become a dependable if not spectacular starter in MLB, with a career 3.79 ERA and 1.063 WHIP, with excellent peripherals, particularly a good K and BB rate. His 4.5 bWAR season in 2025 was a career best. He turns 30 in June, so 2026 will be his age-30 season. He made $3 million in 2025 and is arbitration-eligible for two more seasons. MLB Trade Rumors projects him at $5.8 million for 2026, which is quite reasonable. He’s not a free agent until after the 2027 season.
The two years of team control make Ryan an attractive possible trade pickup. Further, the Twins traded away just about everyone except Ryan last deadline and posted the worst record in the American League over the season’s last two months. They are clearly in rebuild mode.
Here’s where I’m going to ask the hive mind to come up with a good trade package for Ryan. I personally don’t have a suggestion — it’s all yours. Have at it.
