The Chicago Cubs need starting pitching help and not just from the return of injured left-hander Shota Imanaga.

Getting the 31-year-old star would be great news, and he’s closer than ever from returning from his hamstring injury. He made two rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League this week and was dominant. As previously reported by multiple outlets, a rehab start at Triple-A Iowa could be next.

But even after he returns, the Cubs will need help. Cade Horton has pitched well enough to remain part of the rotation when Imanaga returns. Either Ben Brown or Colin Rea would head back to the bullpen.

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Depth will always be a concern after the season-ending injury to Justin Steele. To help prop up that depth, all the Cubs may need to do is consult with their Windy City rivals, the Chicago White Sox.

Aaron Civale was on the move last week as the Cubs’ National League Central rival, the Milwaukee Brewers, traded him to the White Sox. This came after he asked for a trade when the Brewers moved him to the bullpen to make room for the Major League debut of its top pitching prospect, Jacob Misiorowski.

Civale hadn’t even started a game for the White Sox before USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that he may not be with the White Sox beyond the trade deadline.

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“They [White Sox] plan to trade him at the July 31 deadline, believing they could get at least a couple of mid-tier prospects in return,” Nightengale wrote.

If it’s just a couple of mid-tier prospects the White Sox are looking for, that’s appropriate value for 30-year-old starter who can provide quality veteran innings and is on an expiring deal, so the Cubs wouldn’t be tied to anything beyond 2025.

With Milwaukee, he was 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in six starts. He missed more than a month with a strained left hamstring.

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His career numbers before joining the White Sox were 40-37 with a 4.06 ERA in 122 career starts. He had 596 strikeouts and 177 walks in 658.1 innings. He’s never made an All-Star team, but he is a quality arm for rotation depth.

Civale was a third-round pick of the Cleveland Guardians in the 2016 MLB draft and broke in with them in 2019. He’s already been a part of two trade deadline deals.

He was with the Guardians until 2023, when he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays at that year’s trade deadline for infield prospect Kyle Manzardo. He helped the Rays make a push for the playoffs.

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At the 2024 trade deadline, he was dealt to the Brewers for Gregory Barrios.

A deal moving him to the Cubs could make it three deadline deals in three years — and could bolster their starting pitching depth.

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