This emergency Cubs trade would make up for Jed Hoyer's Jesus Luzardo whiff

The Chicago Cubs shied away from Marlins left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo because of his injury history, or at least that is the rumor. Luzardo only made 12 starts last season, and had an ERA over five. While Luzardo can be one of the best southpaws in the sport when he is healthy, the Cubs don't have enough rotation talent to count on him year-round.

“That deal appears to be dead right now,” MLB Insider Bruce Levine told 670 The Score Wednesday evening. “We don’t know what the reason is, it was very hot for a long period of time. Maybe the medicals on one side or the other [weren’t] good. So they’ll be shifting, they still need another starting pitcher in my mind. They have plenty of starting pitching, there’s just a redundancy of guys that throw 92 miles per hour.”

Levine went on to suggest it could have something to do with Luzardo's injury history.

Luzardo is under team control through 2026 and is expected to make under $9 million next season. Because of that, Luzardo was one of the most in-demand pitchers on the trade market until Sunday. The Philadelphia Phillies sent 19-year-old top-100 prospect Starlyn Caba to Miami in return for Luzardo, who should star in the middle of an already-dominant rotation.

Cubs could pivot from Jesus Luzardo to Pablo Lopez

If Chicago wanted to pivot in a different direction without forfeiting their entire farm system, former Marlins pitcher and current Twins ace Pablo Lopez would be an ideal place to look. The Twins are willing to sell off some assets, and Lopez would retrieve a nice return.

Lopez has finished over 2.5 WAR in each of the past four seasons, and made the AL All-Star Team in 2023 while finishing seventh in AL Cy Young voting. He's legit. Lopez is also signed through the 2027 season, and while he's not as cheap as Luzardo, he's a capable starter making just over $21 million in each of the next three years.

Alcantara is a top-100 prospect who could start in the big leagues on Opening Day for Minnesota. Wiggins is the Cubs No. 9 prospect – and they have a strong system, mind you – who could make his way through the Twins system rather quickly. At 23 years old, Wiggins is Chicago's second-best pitching prospect and only needs reps.

This may seem like an overpay for the Cubs, but much like the free-agent market, starting pitching is expensive. It's time to pay up, Jed Hoyer.