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Craig Counsell returns to the dugout after a pitching change.

The Chicago Cubs are off to a great half of the 2025 Major League Baseball season, but their grip on the National League Central has loosened up a bit, and they are no longer a lock to take the division crown. There is still plenty of baseball left, and the Cubs have seen their division lead drop to just two games as the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds are all playing good baseball. Chicago is 48-34.

The NL Central is shaping up to be a fierce competition until the end. This begs the question of what the Cubs should do at MLB’s trade deadline next month. They just got lefty starter Shota Imanaga back, which should help, but Chicago could certainly use another arm in their rotation to help even things out. As a pitching staff, the Cubs are middle of the road with a 3.89 team ERA.

Blockbuster Trade Idea With the Kansas City Royals

In this blockbuster trade proposal, the Chicago Cubs acquire 2024 All-Star starter Seth Lugo from the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are one of those fringe teams that could be sellers if they have a bad month that leads up to the deadline.

In a recent trade piece, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel ranked the top 50 potentially available targets, and Lugo wound up sixth on the list.

“Lugo has posted mid-3.00s or lower ERAs for five seasons despite having below-average fastball velocity and good-not-great strikeout rates. His ability to strand runners and limit hard contact comes in part due to his nine different pitches. With a Nathan Eovaldi-type contract awaiting Lugo in free agency, Kansas City could opt to move him, especially if Cola Ragans’ injured shoulder doesn’t improve.”

And Seth Lugo is having another really impressive year, and certainly should be in contention for his second consecutive All-Star bid. He has a 2.93 ERA in 14 starts this season in 83 innings. So not only has Lugo shown the ability to go out every fifth day and be productive, but he also provides consistency in his outings. He’s thrown over 140 innings each of the past two seasons, and if he stays healthy, he will certainly reach that mark again this season. This would, of course, all depend on whether the Royals believe they have a shot at the playoffs again this season. They were a slight surprise last season, making it to the ALDS.

How Does This Trade Make Chicago Better?

As noted earlier, the Chicago Cubs are still having an amazing season, but there is still so much baseball left, and without Justin Steele, Chicago’s rotation is looking a bit thin. They’ve had to use their top pitching prospect, Cade Horton, a number of times, and he has gotten banged around a bit with a 4.80 ERA in his first handful of starts.

Chicago’s other depth pieces include Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon. Boyd has been solid with an ERA under three, but Taillon, who was expected to be a strong part of this rotation, had an ERA above 4.40.

The Chicago Cubs are certainly expected to be active at the deadline if they continue to have aspirations of advancing to the World Series, but a starting pitcher should be at the top of their priority list.

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