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It’s almost trade season around MLB and the Chicago Cubs are itching for some high quality starting pitching.

After a forgettable 43–45 start to the season, the Cubs must overcome the 5.5 game advantage the Milwaukee Brewers have built for themselves in the National League Central Division. Adding starting pitching is a good place to start for this team if they’re serious about winning the division and returning to the playoffs for the third straight season.

After leading MLB in this category a season ago, the Cubs starters have posted a collective 4.66 ERA this season which is tied for 16th best in MLB with the Oakland Athletics.

The good news? Reigning MLB ERA leader Kyle Hendricks is in the process of completing a rehab assignment with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies and could return to the Cubs regular rotation as early as next weekend. The bad news? Hendricks’ presence in the rotation doesn’t have a direct baring on how well Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, and John Lackey pitch for the rest of the season. All three have experienced substantive statistical regression compared to a season ago.

Starting pitching is normally at a premium come July. Like the previous two seasons, the Cubs find themselves in position to become major buyers should they choose to use their expansive pool of resources to fill holes on the MLB roster. After the lethargic beginning to the season, it may be in the Cubs best interest to be aggressive prior to the deadline.

According to a report from MLB Trade Rumors writer Mark Polishuk, the Cubs have called almost every MLB team with available pitching. Other rumors have been less vague, explicitly mentioning the names of pitchers the Cubs have expressed interest in acquiring.

Justin Verlander

This is the sexiest rumor in all of baseball, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he is engaged to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.

Justin Verlander hasn’t been good this season (4.73; 5–6 record). But, he almost won the American League Cy Young award last season, and he was a consensus elite-level pitcher from 2009–2013 when he made five consecutive All-Star teams. The Tigers will likely be sellers, and some contender will probably take a flyer on Verlander in hopes that he can regain the form that once made him dominant.

According to multiple reports, the Cubs could be that team.

However, a few days later MLB writer Peter Gammons threw a bucket of cold water on these trade rumors stating that the Cubs no longer had interest in acquiring Verlander. His age (34), large contract, poor performance this season, and the Tigers’ asking price are all deterrents for any team interested in acquiring his services.

For more on the possibility of Verlander joining the Cubs this July, please read the in-depth article I wrote on the topic last week.

Michael Fulmer

Apparently, Theo Epstein’s conversation with Detroit Tigers’ General Manager Al Avila hasn’t just been Verlander centric.

According to MLB writer Peter Gammons, the Cubs have inquired about right-handed pitcher Michael Fulmer. According to MLB Roundups’ Twitter page, the Cubs have even extended an offer for the 24 year old.

In two seasons, Fulmer has posted a collective 3.11 ERA and a 20–13 record across 43 starts. Equally appealing from the perspective of any potential suitor is the fact that he doesn’t hit arbitration until 2019 and doesn’t become a free agent until 2023.

However, there is a catch. If the Tigers were asking for a “big, big, big” return for Verlander, God only knows how much they want for Fulmer who is the more appealing asset because of his age and cost-controlled contract.

Daniel Norris

He is kind of an afterthought in the above tweet, but the Cubs also asked the Tigers about left-handed starter Daniel Norris.

Norris is 24 years old and has posted decent numbers through his first three and a half MLB seasons (4.28 collective ERA). Like Fulmer, he is far away from free agency (2022) making him appealing for a Cubs team looking for young, cost-effective pitching that they can control into the future.

However, acquiring Norris is risky because of his persistent injury issues. He’s only pitched in 48 games across 3.5 seasons and currently resides on the 10-day disabled list with a groin strain.

However, because of these injury red flags, the Tigers may ask for less in return for Norris than they would have for Verlander or Fulmer.

Gerrit Cole

The Cubs would have to clean out the farm system, add in Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, or Ian Happ, throw in some free Wrigley Field Ivy that they previously priced at $200 a leaf, and ship Clark the mascot over to Pittsburgh to get their hands on this pirate treasure.

Gerrit Cole to the Cubs has been more speculative than an actual concrete rumor from a legitimate source. However, if the Pirates decide to sell at the deadline, Cole is the player that could fetch the highest ransom on the open market. Cole is worth mentioning in an article dedicated to Cubs rumors because this team needs young, cost-controlled pitching and Cole checks those boxes.

However, is he worth such an extravagant price tag? In 2015 when he posted a 2.60 ERA and made the All-Star team at age 24 the answer to this question was a resounding yes. But, things have changed and Cole’s ERA has soared to 4.14 averaged across the last season and a half.

The fact that so many teams are still in contention for a postseason berth at this point in the season could incite a fierce bidding war in the near future. Maybe the Cubs should do their best Switzerland impression, and let the other teams do the fighting for Cole as they pursue other pitchers.

Chris Archer (RHP) Tampa Bay Rays

It seems like Chris Archer’s rumored connection to the Chicago Cubs is eternal. However, nothing has materialized as he’s remained in Tampa Bay for all six years of his MLB career

But, rumors citing an imminent marriage between Archer and the Cubs re-emerged in June.

However, circumstance breeds logicality and this trade scenario has suddenly become unlikely because of the Rays positioning in the standings. They sit 5.5 games out of first place in the AL East, but just a game out of the second Wild Card spot. Trading Archer for what would likely be a package featuring mostly prospects would be counterintuitive for a team with current rather than future playoff aspirations.

Plus, Archer is on a team friendly six-year, $25.5 million deal which runs through 2019 and includes team options for the next two seasons. The Rays likely aren’t coughing up Archer unless the Cubs surrender win-now players (Baez, Schwarber, Happ, etc.) and even then Tampa Bay may still want to hold on to their budding ace.

Jeff Samardzija (RHP) San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants disastrous first half of the season (34–56; 27 games back in NL West) makes them prime candidates to become sellers at the deadline, meaning a reunion between Jeff Samardzija and the Chicago Cubs could be in order.

The 32-year-old Notre Dame grad has three years remaining on his current contract after this season. The 4.54 ERA he’s posted this season isn’t ideal, but his 3.41 fielding independent pitching value (FIP) suggests he’s been the victim of some bad luck. As a back of the rotation starter he has value, although he hasn’t pitched like an ace since the 2014 season and his career trajectory will likely continue on a downward trend from here.

There hasn’t been concrete rumors regarding the Cubs interest in acquiring Samardzija, but fit wise he makes a lot of sense. Both CBS Chicago writer Bruce Levine and Bleacher Nation writer Brett Taylor have suggested that Samardzija would be a good fit with the Cubs. But, once again, this is speculation not confirmed mutual interest between the two teams.

Johnny Cueto (RHP) San Francisco Giants

The Cubs experienced first hand the power of Johnny Cueto last October in Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series. After playing an integral role in the Kansas City Royals World Series title in 2015, and then pitching to a 2.79 ERA across 32 regular season starts with the Giants in 2016, Cueto has leveled off a bit this season to the tune of a 4.26 ERA and a 6–7 record across 17 starts. However, the Cubs may still have interest.

FanRag Sports Network writer Jon Heyman reports that Cueto will likely opt out of his current contract after this season. The Giants could enter the desperate category in terms of their level of urgency to get a trade done to avoid watching him walk away for nothing at the end of the season. This means that Cueto could be had for less than his actual value because he essentially becomes a rental and rentals are generally less valuable than long-term pieces.

Sonny Gray (RHP) Oakland Athletics

Across the bay, there is another reeling baseball team that will certainly look to sell at the trade deadline. It’s become an annual July tradition for Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray to have his name involved in trade rumors. Is this the year he finally gets moved after spending the first four and a half seasons of his career with the Athletics?

San Francisco Chronicle writer Susan Slusser reported at the end of June, that the Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox had all sent scouts and executives to watch Gray pitch. Gray is still young (27), and posted a cumulative 2.88 ERA through his first three years in the league. He also remains under team control until 2020 which makes him especially appealing for a Chicago Cubs team looking for cost-controlled pitching. However, he has posted a 5.01 ERA over the last season and a half.

The Cubs drafted Gray in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB draft, so it’d be a unique full-circle journey if they end up acquiring him in a trade this season.

Paul Steeno spent 11 years pretending he was good at running. After hanging up the track spikes and officially becoming an elite hobby jogger, he decided to do something that he was actually good at: like writing about the Cubs. He is also a perpetually frustrated Chicago Bulls fan. This one time he got super lucky and ran 3:52 in the 1500 meter run.