Dream Chicago Cubs starting rotation featuring Craig Counsell’s Milwaukee ties

Craig Counsell left the Milwaukee Brewers for the Chicago Cubs, making enemies with the state of Wisconsin in the process. Will Counsell regret his decision? Only time will tell, though, if Chicago made the right call.

The Cubs dumped David Ross for Counsell, who seemed blindsided by the decision, given Jed Hoyer and the Chicago front office essentially backed the then-Cubbies manager despite his late-season collapse.

Ross wants to be a manager again, but in the meantime the Cubs are building around Counsell. Starting pitching is an area of need for this team, especially with Marcus Stroman likely headed elsewhere. Assuming the Cubs cannot sign Stroman, their dream rotation could feature multiple former Brewers that Counsell is familiar with.

Jameson Taillon will be in the Cubs rotation next year

Jameson Taillon's Cubs tenure has been filled with injuries, just like his Yankees career. Unfortunately, Taillon struggles to say healthy, However, in a perfect rotation he'll be the No. 5 starter, ideally with a lot of depth behind him in case Taillon goes down. Anthony Rizzo helped guide Taillon to Chicago in the first place, and given they do not trade him away, he'll be a solid No. 4 or No. 5 starter.

“I did research and talked to a guy like Rizzo,” Taillon said at the time. “He said he was at a wedding last offseason and [David Ross] was there and there were a bunch of guys there. I bumped into Rizzo in New York in the offseason and he was just like, ‘they really want you. Here’s why you’re gonna love playing there.’"

Taillon has been a solid pickup, though perhaps underplaying his current contract. Still, as a No. 5 option, he's exactly what Chicago should be looking for.