Sandy Alcántara’s days in Miami are numbered, and it’s only a matter of time before teams begin calling about his price tag. The $56 million ace is a popular name already ahead of the trade deadline in July, and the team that acquires him will receive a significant boost to its rotation.

Zachary Rotman of FanSided believes the Chicago Cubs should emerge as a favorite. “Based on the Chicago Cubs’ recent activity, there’s reason to believe they’ll be right in the thick of the Alcantara sweepstakes, and they should be viewed as one of, if not the favorites to land him,” wrote Rotman. “The Cubs were constantly in rumors involving big-name starting pitchers on the trade market over the offseason like Garrett Crochet and Dylan Cease, but their big trade wound up being for Kyle Tucker.”

The Cubs certainly had a strong offseason, with Tucker being the headline of their moves. Adding Alcántara at the deadline would give manager Craig Counsell the best team on paper by far in the National League Central. Chicago has a top-10 farm system currently headlined by third baseman Matt Shaw. The Cubs wouldn’t move on from him, but they still have enough in the minor league system to get a deal done.

“Top prospect Matt Shaw is probably off the table, but the Cubs have seven top 100 prospects on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list, tying them for the most in the majors with the Seattle Mariners,” wrote Rotman. The time is now for the Cubs to claim their stake at the top of the NL Central for years to come; Alcántara would simply expedite the process.