{"id":47547,"date":"2025-04-11T07:25:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T07:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=47547"},"modified":"2025-04-11T07:25:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T07:25:31","slug":"trade-targets-identified-for-cubs-to-address-grimace-inducing-pitching-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=47547","title":{"rendered":"Trade Targets Identified for Cubs to Address \u2018Grimace-Inducing\u2019 Pitching Woes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Steele.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Steele.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Steele.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Steele.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Trade Targets Identified for Cubs to Address \u2018Grimace-Inducing\u2019 Pitching Woes\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Even under the healthiest of conditions, the <\/span>Chicago Cubs <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> are a team in need of help on the pitching staff.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The team\u2019s <\/span>bullpen has been at best inconsistent <span data-contrast=\"auto\">, at worst ineffective since the season began. And while the starters have held their own in helping Chicago <\/span>get out to a 9-6 start <span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span>there are questions <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> about their ability to match up against potential playoff opponents.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Those questions only got louder on Wednesday with the announcement that <\/span>Justin Steele <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> had been <\/span>put on the 15-day injured list <span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Justin Steele Undergoes MRI Due to Elbow Tendonitis<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It was an unwelcome surprise for Cubs fans, who had just watched Steele pitch his best game of the young season on Monday. Facing the Texas Rangers on a cold night at Wrigley Field, Steele threw seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits with eight strikeouts and a pair of walks as <\/span>Chicago won 5-0 <span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, Steele had informed the coaching staff during the game that he felt a bit of tightness in his elbow, and when it still didn\u2019t feel right the next day, impeding Steele\u2019s recovery work, the team decided to shut him down with what they\u2019re calling elbow tendonitis. Steele was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cYou see that and it never sounds good,\u201d said Jack Ankony with <\/span>Sports Illustrated\u2019s Payoff Pitch podcast <span data-contrast=\"auto\">. \u201cBut yeah, it\u2019s a big loss for the Cubs.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While calling Steele, \u201cone of the more underrated pitchers in the in the NL the last couple years,\u201d Ankony said he feels that even with a healthy Steele, the Cubs should be shopping for a top-line starter. An injured Steele makes that need even more prevalent.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cI sort of thought going into the year they needed to add another [starting pitcher], whether it\u2019s an ace or a number two, because I sort of see Steele and [Shota] Imanaga as, you know, very good number twos maybe, not aces to kind of carry your rotation,\u201d Ankony said. \u201cSo it kind of puts the Cubs in a little bit of trouble here.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Cubs Urged to Seek Pitching Help Following Injury to Justin Steele<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In a piece for Bleacher Report, Kerry Miller examines \u201cMLB Teams with Clear Needs Already for 2025 Trade Deadline.\u201d Noting that the injury to Steele turned the Cubs\u2019 pitching staff \u201cfrom \u2018questionable\u2019 to downright \u2018grimace-inducing,\u2019\u201d Miller listed a quartet of potential options for Chicago to pursue in a trade: Nick Martinez, Cal Quantrill, Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez, and Kyle Hendricks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThat last solution on the list would be a fun reunion, with Hendricks out to a pretty impressive start to the Angels chapter of his career,\u201d Miller wrote. \u201cBut a swing man like Martinez would seem to make the most sense for a team with a wide range of pitching needs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIf his $21 million salary is a bit too much for the Cubs to stomach, there\u2019s always $3.5 million Quantrill wasting away in Miami.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Cubs News<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chicago Cubs are urged to address their &#8216;grimace-inducing&#8217; pitching woes amplified by the potential loss of Justin Steele.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":47548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trade Targets Identified for Cubs to Address \u2018Grimace-Inducing\u2019 Pitching Woes - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=47547\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trade Targets Identified for Cubs to Address \u2018Grimace-Inducing\u2019 Pitching Woes - 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