Chicago Cubs Could Be Ideal Fit for Surprising Star Pitcher on Trade Block

The Chicago Cubs were expected going into the offseason to add some pitching, both in the bullpen and the starting rotation, and while they have done that, the additions have not been extremely significant.

Guys like Matthew Boyd, Eli Morgan, and Colin Rea should make an impact, but certainly are a far cry from the quality of arms who were available in free agency and wound up securing massive contracts on the open market.

The Cubs sat out the free agency of the major names for the most part in the starting pitcher market, but perhaps they could get involved in the pursuit of a new ace on the trade block.

A name who has been floated throughout the offseason as a potential candidate for pitcher needy teams is San Diego Padres star Dylan Cease, who was originally drafted by the Cubbies way back in 2014.

Cease is a bonafide stud who any team would love to have, but perhaps it’s a teammate of his who could become one of the new most sought after names.

According to recent reporting via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Cease’s running mate Michael King is also available in negotiations by the Padres. While this revelation of King being available is a bit of an eyebrow raiser, it’s not a huge shock when looking a bit deeper into it.

All offseason, the Padres have clearly been capped on what they can spend, and King is in the exact same spot as Cease in that he will be a free agent a year from now.

Coming off a 30-start season with a 2.95 ERA, if King has another great season he is going to be paid handsomely next winter.

Ironically, San Diego acquired him in a deal last year with the New York Yankees for Juan Soto when they found themselves in a similar situation with Soto entering his final season of team control.

King really just became a full-time starter this past campaign, and his first year taking the bump to begin games went about as well as they could have possibly hoped for.

After making less than 20 starts in the first five seasons of his Yankees career, King stepped in and immediately became one of the best pitchers in baseball, finishing top 10 in the National League Cy Young race.

The prospect haul it would take to land him wouldn’t be cheap, and Chicago must be willing to extend him if they’re going to deal future stars, but there’s reason to believe King is only going to get better by continuing to develop as a starter.

Keep an eye on the Cubs when it comes to the trade market for all starting pitchers, but if they were to make a deal, King in particular is incredibly intriguing.