It's no secret that the Chicago Cubs are scouring the market for a frontline starter ahead of the rapidly approaching July 31 trade deadline. But in this world, you must give if you want to get. The team will have to dangle a valuable asset(s) to bring in an impact pitcher, especially given how few figure to be available at the deadline and how hot the market should be. To make sure a deal gets done, Chicago could be forced to dangle their top prospect, Owen Caissie.
Among the best hitters in the Minors right now, Caissie has been justifying his place atop the Cubs' farm system. He presents president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer with a strong bargaining chip, though rerouting the promising young outfielder could eventually haunt Chicago. Yet, if winning the World Series in 2025 is the primary goal, it's a risk they may have to take.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Cubs may have to trade red-hot No. 1 prospect Owen Caissie to land ace the they need
This is Chicago's best shot at scaling the highest mountaintop for the first time since 2016. Sometimes, that means having to make sacrifices for the greater good. In this case, that could mean saying goodbye to Caissie prematurely, despite the immense upside he's displayed.
Caissie's slashing .278/.380/.502 with 35 home runs, 114 RBI and 14 stolen bases across 733 at-bats over two seasons at Triple-A Iowa. His stellar .882 OPS highlights how well-rounded of a hitter he is, not just a power bat. The 23-year-old has an intriguing blend of size (6-foot-3), speed and pop that would garner lots of interest and net Chicago the ace they're desperately searching for.
Chicago's starting pitchers rank 27th in Wins Above Average (WAA), sandwiched between the Miami Marlins and Athletics and above only the Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies. That's not the best company for a club with title aspirations to be keeping, to say the least. They're also 22nd in strikeouts, 20th in batting average against and 19th in ERA.
No matter how you look at it, the Cubs need another reliable arm to pair with ace Shota Imanaga and fellow southpaw Matthew Boyd. Meanwhile, Caissie gives them a means of upgrading their rotation and doesn't have a path to playing time in Chicago anytime soon. Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ/Seiya Suzuki form a potent and crowded outfield group, one that isn't going anywhere in the near future.
However, for whatever it's worth, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are 25th in WAA and overwhelming betting favorites to repeat. Maybe the two teams are an exception to the norm and can get by in October because of their Death Star offensive lineups. But are the Cubs willing to make that bet?