cubs get Cabrera

[82birds]

rats.
from MLBTR:

By Steve Adams | January 7, 2026 at 11:12am CDT

The Cubs and Marlins are nearing an agreement on a trade sending righty Edward Cabrera from Miami to Chicago, as first reported by Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Good for them I suppose. He's pretty good when he pitches, but he misses a lot of time. His 26 starts last season were a career high. His 137.2 IP marked a career high, and the first time in 5 major league seasons that he pitched more than 100 innings. In his 5 seasons, he has 2 with and ERA under 4.00, and sports a career ERA of 4.07. We'll see if he pitches enough for them to be glad they've got him.

[VegasVinny]

For three years of control, I can't imagine he will come cheap.

That'll be a decent enough rotation (Imanaga, Cabrera, Steele, Taillon) to contend with Milwaukee in the Central, but more of a built-for-162 staff than a postseason one.

[ClassicO]

I've always liked the guy since he has nasty stuff when he's on, but he hasn't exactly been on most of his career, except 2025.
I've often advocated for the Cards to pick him up. I'd like to see what it cost the Cubs.

[Midrange Jay]

Good for them I suppose. He's pretty good when he pitches, but he misses a lot of time. His 26 starts last season were a career high. His 137.2 IP marked a career high, and the first time in 5 major league seasons that he pitched more than 100 innings. In his 5 seasons, he has 2 with and ERA under 4.00, and sports a career ERA of 4.07. We'll see if he pitches enough for them to be glad they've got him.

137 exceeds any of our pitching acquisitions’.

[Strummer Jones]

This feels like a very Cubs move.

[Ozziesfan41]

This feels like a very Cubs move.

Yea a bad one depending on what they gave up

[Talkin' Baseball]

Good for them I suppose. He's pretty good when he pitches, but he misses a lot of time. His 26 starts last season were a career high. His 137.2 IP marked a career high, and the first time in 5 major league seasons that he pitched more than 100 innings. In his 5 seasons, he has 2 with and ERA under 4.00, and sports a career ERA of 4.07. We'll see if he pitches enough for them to be glad they've got him.

137 exceeds any our pitching acquisitions’.

With the exception of May, we aren't thinking about them as top half of the rotation starters on the ML roster this season. With regard to May, I think the team and most fans are cognizant of his track record and what that may mean going forward. It's a gamble. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs, the pundits, and fans acknowledge the gamble element with Cabrera, or if they say they got an ace.

[Strummer Jones]

This feels like a very Cubs move.

Yea a bad one depending on what they gave up

Consensus seems to say that Caisse is the headliner.

So, I could easily see this working out like the Quintana trade. Trade a couple young studs for a supposedly ascendant SP. That pitcher does...okay...for a couple of seasons, but is more or less allowed to walk in a couple years. And then those young studs are going to be missing pieces to a Cubs team in, like...2029.

So, if history is a judge, the Cubs outfield is going to collapse in a couple years. Happ and Suzuki aren't going to be holding down the fort well enough. And then PCA is going to be the veteran outfielder who is woefully unequipped to be the guy to hang an outfield on. Dude's got more talent in his pinky than entire teams have in their starting 9...but he has no feel for the game whatsoever.

I would be completely unsurprised by that.

[Ozziesfan41]

This feels like a very Cubs move.

Yea a bad one depending on what they gave up

Consensus seems to say that Caisse is the headliner.

So, I could easily see this working out like the Quintana trade. Trade a couple young studs for a supposedly ascendant SP. That pitcher does...okay...for a couple of seasons, but is more or less allowed to walk in a couple years. And then those young studs are going to be missing pieces to a Cubs team in, like...2029.

So, if history is a judge, the Cubs outfield is going to collapse in a couple years. Happ and Suzuki aren't going to be holding down the fort well enough. And then PCA is going to be the veteran outfielder who is woefully unequipped to be the guy to hang an outfield on. Dude's got more talent in his pinky than entire teams have in their starting 9...but he has no feel for the game whatsoever.

I would be completely unsurprised by that.

With as much of a gamble as Cabrera is I would think it would have been better for them to sign Valdez or Suarez to a 3 year contract and keep the top prospects after giving up a lot in the Kyle Tucker trade. But they may have also be planning on a signing a big free agent also

[Strummer Jones]

This feels like a very Cubs move.

Yea a bad one depending on what they gave up

Consensus seems to say that Caisse is the headliner.

So, I could easily see this working out like the Quintana trade. Trade a couple young studs for a supposedly ascendant SP. That pitcher does...okay...for a couple of seasons, but is more or less allowed to walk in a couple years. And then those young studs are going to be missing pieces to a Cubs team in, like...2029.

So, if history is a judge, the Cubs outfield is going to collapse in a couple years. Happ and Suzuki aren't going to be holding down the fort well enough. And then PCA is going to be the veteran outfielder who is woefully unequipped to be the guy to hang an outfield on. Dude's got more talent in his pinky than entire teams have in their starting 9...but he has no feel for the game whatsoever.

I would be completely unsurprised by that.

With as much of a gamble as Cabrera is I would think it would have been better for them to sign Valdez or Suarez to a 3 year contract and keep the top prospects after giving up a lot in the Kyle Tucker trade. But they may have also be planning on a signing a big free agent also

I don't get the feeling that Hoyer is that popular up north. They seem to penny pinch a lot up there.

[82birds]

more from the MLBTR writeup"

Cabrera will slot into a deep Cubs rotation mix, joining Rookie of the Year finalist Cade Horton and veterans Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga (who accepted a $22.05MM qualifying offer in November). Acquiring Cabrera likely pushes veteran swingman Colin Rea back into a long relief role to begin the season, though he’d be among the first men up in the event of an injury elsewhere on the staff.

Of course, the Cubs will be eagerly awaiting the return of ace Justin Steele, ideally at some point in the season’s first half. The 30-year-old Steele was the team’s top starter from 2022-24, pitching a combined 427 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates, but he made just four starts in 2025 before requiring UCL surgery in late April. Every rehab process is different, but it’s reasonable to expect that he could be back in June or July.

[82birds]

https://redbirdrants.com/cardinals-hate ... ster-trade

[Midrange Jay]

Good for them I suppose. He's pretty good when he pitches, but he misses a lot of time. His 26 starts last season were a career high. His 137.2 IP marked a career high, and the first time in 5 major league seasons that he pitched more than 100 innings. In his 5 seasons, he has 2 with and ERA under 4.00, and sports a career ERA of 4.07. We'll see if he pitches enough for them to be glad they've got him.

137 exceeds any our pitching acquisitions’.

With the exception of May, we aren't thinking about them as top half of the rotation starters on the ML roster this season. With regard to May, I think the team and most fans are cognizant of his track record and what that may mean going forward. It's a gamble. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs, the pundits, and fans acknowledge the gamble element with Cabrera, or if they say they got an ace.

He is #4 behind Imanaga, Steele and Boyd.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Good for them I suppose. He's pretty good when he pitches, but he misses a lot of time. His 26 starts last season were a career high. His 137.2 IP marked a career high, and the first time in 5 major league seasons that he pitched more than 100 innings. In his 5 seasons, he has 2 with and ERA under 4.00, and sports a career ERA of 4.07. We'll see if he pitches enough for them to be glad they've got him.

137 exceeds any our pitching acquisitions’.

With the exception of May, we aren't thinking about them as top half of the rotation starters on the ML roster this season. With regard to May, I think the team and most fans are cognizant of his track record and what that may mean going forward. It's a gamble. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs, the pundits, and fans acknowledge the gamble element with Cabrera, or if they say they got an ace.

He is #4 behind Imanaga, Steele and Boyd.

That seems reasonable.

[TraveledLessRoad]

I wonder if Nico Hoerner is in the deal