Cade Horton is out for the year (and then some). Justin Steele is out at least until after the All-Star break (and hasn’t thrown since the beginning of last season). Matthew Boyd just got surgery on his meniscus (and is older and injury-prone).

Meanwhile, the Cubs (27-14) are one of the best teams in baseball with a lot of positional certainty at the big-league level and positional prospects in the minors, but plenty of outgoing free-agent pitchers at the end of the year and a clear need for impact in the rotation right now.

Add it all up and, yeah, they’ll very likely be adding a starting pitcher via trade this season.

But while that won’t likely happen anytime soon, the rumors and breakdowns are already out in full force. Let’s break these rumors down and get an understanding of who might be on their radar.

Starting Pitcher Trade Rumors: Potential Cubs Targets, Teams to Watch, Challenge Trades, More

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