The Chicago Cubs are now dissecting the 2025 season after their Game 5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.

Chicago made one move to bolster its rotation at the trade deadline, trading for Washington Nationals starter Michael Soroka.

Unfortunately, he suffered an injury at his first start and contributed sparingly the rest of the season. The Cubs essentially had to make do with what they already had before the trade. The lack of depth was a problem in the postseason.

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One of the questions the Cubs must answer this offseason is how to improve the rotation. Chicago has several starters under contract, but it could still use a veteran starter via trade were through free agency. The question is whether the Cubs want to spend the money or prospect capital to accomplish it.

Not listed below is left-hander Justin Steele, who missed the bulk of the season after suffering an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. With a 12-to-18-month recovery timetable, it’s possible the Cubs could get him back in the second half of the season. But Chicago should prepare like he won’t be ready at all in 2026

Here is what the Cubs’ opening-day rotation could look like for 2026.

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The left-hander is the favorite to be the opening day starter, the role he served in when the team went to his native Japan to open the season in March. He missed a month due to a hamstring injury and finished 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 25 starts, with 117 strikeouts and 26 walks in 144.2 innings.

He’s under contract, but the Cubs could trigger a conditional option in his deal to tie him to the club for another year and raise the value of his five-year deal to $80 million.

RHP Cade Horton

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The former first-round pick made his Major League debut in May, and he became the rotation’s No. 2 starter by the end of the season. In 23 games (22 starts), he went 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA, with 97 strikeouts and 33 walks in 118 innings.

He is under team control for the next five years and he won’t hit arbitration for two more seasons. He’s the biggest “what if” of the postseason. He was unable to pitch in the playoffs due to a right rib fracture but should be ready to go by the start of spring training.

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There is sure to be concern about regression after Boyd had a career year in 2025, which included his first All Star Game berth. But the Cubs signed him to a two-year, $29 million deal before the season with the idea that he could be a starter or a reliever. The two sides also have a mutual option in 2027. He’ll make $17 million in 2026.

He went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts, with 154 strikeouts and 42 walks in 179.2 innings. Batters hit just .235 against him. The 34-year-old fits nicely into next year’s rotation.

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RHP Jameson Taillon

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He enters his age 34 season in the final year of a four-year, $68 million deal he signed with the Cubs before the 2023 season. He is set to make $18 million next year, which doesn’t make him untradeable. Plus, as a third or fourth starter, he is good value for the Cubs.

Even with injuries, he had a solid regular season, as he went 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA. He struck out 98 and walked 27 in 129.2 innings. Batters hit .225 against him and he had a 1.06 WHIP. The Cubs will lean on him hard with Steele set to miss the first part of the season.

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Alcantara, a former National League Cy Young winner, was connected to several teams at the trade deadline, including the Cubs. His numbers didn’t support a good haul for the Miami Marlins, as he went 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts.

It was his first full season after Tommy John surgery, but down the stretch he started to look like himself. He went 5-1 with a 2.83 ERA in his final seven starts. A projected trade would require at least three Cubs prospects, but Alcantara would give Chicago a quality starter with at least two years of team control.

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