On July 30, 2025, the Cincinnati Reds traded left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers to the Pittsburgh Pirates. One day later, Rogers was traded to the Chicago Cubs for outfield prospect Ivan Brethowr.

Rogers went on to make 17 appearances for Chicago during the regular season and struggled, posting a 5.09 ERA in 17.2 innings. This is a stark contrast to the 2.45 ERA Rogers had amassed with the Reds in 2024 before heading to Chicago.

The 34-year-old only made one postseason appearance for the Cubs, throwing one scoreless inning against the San Diego Padres. In fact, Rogers didn’t even make Chicago’s roster for their NLDS series against their NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers.

There’s no question that this was not the production Chicago’s front office was hoping for when acquiring Rogers at the deadline. While they didn’t need to give up much in return for him because he was slated to enter free agency this offseason, the southpaw pitcher’s few months in Chicago were forgettable.

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Taylor Rogers (17) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The initial thought is that Chicago is highly unlikely to try to re-sign Rogers this winter. Not only was he unremarkable with the team, but flame-throwing lefty Luke Little will hopefully be ready to make an impact with the Cubs in 2026 and could be poised for a breakout campaign.

However, Little has proven that he can’t be trusted as of yet. And neither can Jordan Wicks, who produced a 6.28 ERA in eight appearances with Chicago in 2025. Those are the only two left-handed relievers on Chicago’s active roster right now.

Not to mention that Rogers has proved that he’s typically much more effective than he was with the Cubs. His 5.08 ERA in Chicago would be the worst season he has produced if he were across an entire year, and his career 3.34 ERA suggests that Cubs fans would be able to expect a rebound campaign if the front office re-signs him.

There’s a case to be made that Rogers’ best days are behind him. However, given that Spotrac projects he’ll sign a two-year, $8 million deal this winter, there really isn’t much of a downside to bringing a guy with 541.1 innings pitched in his MLB career back on board.

The Cubs have a lot of spots in their bullpen to fill in the coming months. And they should at least consider filling one of those with Rogers.

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