Jed Hoyer has perfect encore to Kyle Tucker trade to save Cubs offseason

By taking on Kyle Tucker with an expiring contract, the Chicago Cubs demonstrated to the Major League Baseball world their willingness to get uncomfortable. It was a high-risk, high-reward type of acquisition that a team in a city like Chicago should be making. That can't be it though. Jed Hoyer and the front office have expressed their interest in bringing up more pitching depth, despite the inconsistencies we saw with the lineup over the course of last season.

"We'll continue to look for pitching," Hoyer said a few weeks ago, per The Athletic's Patrick Mooney ($). "It takes a lot of arms — a lot of really good arms — to get through the season."

Chicago missed out on Miami's Jesús Luzardo, who went to another NL team — the Philadelphia Phillies. That doesn't mean it's done shopping the pitching trade market. Luis Castillo, the three-time All-Star pitcher of the Seattle Mariners, has been floated around the trade rumor mill all offseason. With Hoyer's goal of obtaining more depth and quality on the mound, the incoming of a star like him would be a massive get.

The Seattle Times reported back in mid-December that discussions between the Cubs and the Mariners regarding Castillo have occurred. Castillo has been quite the workhorse even with some of his numbers expressing some regression last season. In 2024, the former Cincinnati Red tossed his second straight campaign of 30 or more starts, compiling a 3.64 ERA to go along with a 3.91 FIP and an above-league average of nine punchouts per nine innings.

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Luis Castillo is another ceiling raiser for the Chicago Cubs with postseason baseball the main goal in 2025

Castillo is also a right-handed pitcher, something Chicago could need to be even more competitive in the NL Central. Three out of its top-five starters as of now — Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and newcomer Matthew Boyd — are all left-handed.

The 32-year-old has three years and $72.45 million remaining on his contract with a vesting option for a fourth year at $25 million. Given the kind of money that pitchers have been thrown this offseason, it's honestly a steal of a contract for the kind of reliability Castillo provides.

The main question when it comes to the Seattle stud is what the Mariners seek in return. Obviously, the AL side needs offensive production. It's likely aiming to receive a major league-ready bat in return for such a consistent top-of-the-line starting pitcher. The Cubs have the fifth-best farm system in all of baseball, per FanGraphs. Outfielders like Kevin Alcántara or Owen Caissie, two top-six Chicago prospects, should be of interest to the Washington ball club.

Zach Rymer of Bleacher Report has Caissie going to Seattle in a Castillo deal that also includes cash. Caissie is coming off a year where he was one of only five players in the International League (one of two leagues at the Triple-A level) to amass over 130 hits and an OPS of over .800.

It's time for Chicago to make another splash. The strategic addition of Castillo, an experienced hard-throwing righter who finished top-five in the AL Cy Young race just a few seasons ago, would enhance a rotation that recorded the third-highest ERA in the National League last season.