Cubs' Edward Cabrera trade is cute attempt to compete with Dodgers in NL race

The Red Sox set the market on traded starting pitchers in November, when they gave up a starting pitcher years away from arbitration, a top-five prospect, and a player to be named later or cash in exchange for 36-year-old Sonny Gray with only one year of guaranteed team control left. It was an extraordinary and frankly ridiculous price, but it set the tone for the rest of the offseason.

The Cubs took it up a notch on Wednesday night, when they traded top prospect Owen Caissie and two infielders for Marlins starter Edward Cabrera, who had a respectable but not great 2025 season and has three years of team control left.

Chicago's starting pitching was arguably their greatest weakness in 2025. Only Matthew Boyd pitched a fully healthy season, and Justin Steele went down in April with an elbow injury that required season-ending surgery.

Getting Cabrera is a decent enough move — the willingness to pay top dollar is even a little Dodgers-ian — but if the Cubs think it's going to be enough to get them past the NLDS or even into the same league as the Dodgers, they might have to think again.

Cubs' Edward Cabrera trade won't be enough to get them into the same tier as the Dodgers

Cabrera logged 137 2/3 innings for a 3.53 ERA in 2025 between bookend IL stints. His sinker and fastball got hammered, but his curveball was almost unhittable (.142 batting average against and .245 slugging against), his changeup has the potential to be great, and he reached a career-high 150 strikeout mark despite the abbreviated season.

There's certainly room to grow for Cabrera if he can actually stay healthy, which has always been a challenge for him. His 137 2/3 innings was a career high in five seasons with the Marlins. If he turns into the Cubs' version of Rays-era Tyler Glasnow, they're going to have to think long and hard about whether or not giving up a top-50 prospect in all of baseball was really worth it.

The Cubs are banking on Steele returning at some point this year, but if Shota Imanaga continues to disappoint and Cade Horton doesn't turn into the superstar they hope he will (and as quickly as they think he will), Cabrera's not going to move the needle for them.

Nice try, Cubs, but this isn't the offseason-saving move you might think it is.