Chicago Cubs Rumors: 5 trades to make for starting pitcher at deadline

Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher trade candidates: Jose Berrios

Currently, the Minnesota Twins are amidst a forgettable season. At 32-43, they are last in the AL Central even after winning six of their last 10 games. Minnesota should absolutely be a seller at this year’s deadline, and have even begun preliminary talks with a Cubs division rival.

Berrios is the Twins’ best available starting pitcher, but he is also under team control for the next few years. Because of that, he will cost the Cubs quite a bit. In this trade, the Cubs give up three of their top prospects in exchange for Berrios’ services.

Chicago would trade their no. 4 prospect Christian Hernandez, no. 6 prospect Kohl Franklin and no. 11 prospect Owen Caissie to land Berrios.

This season, Berrios is 7-2 with a 3.41 ERA. His most recent start was a game against the Cleveland Indians in which the Twins lost 4-1. However, Berrios only allowed one run on four hits while striking out nine. That’s the type of pitcher the Cubs would be getting — a guy who doesn’t allow a lot of runs, but also doesn’t get the run support he deserves in Minnesota.

A couple of highlights from Berrios’ 2021 season so far include posting five games allowing four or less hits, as well as four games where he allowed one run or fewer. In total, Berrios has given the Twins six quality starts out of the 15 times he’s taken the mound this year.