Cubs Predicted to Land 2.67 ERA Ace to Replace Justin Steele During MLB Trade Deadline

Cubs Predicted to Land 2.67 ERA Ace to Replace Justin Steele During MLB Trade Deadline originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Chicago Cubs need help on the mound, and a few teams around the league could use some help in the lineup. 

For that reason alone, the Cubs and Kansas City Royals could be perfect trade candidates. With Seth Lugo possibly available by the Royals, with his 2.67 ERA and 88 strikeouts on the year, there's reason to believe he'd be one of the top targets for the Cubs to pursue. 

When recently making bold predictions for the second half of the campaign, CBS Sports predicted that's how things would go down. They predicted that Chicago would find a new ace. 

“The Royals went into the All-Star break with the second-best ERA+ (118) and the fifth-worst OPS+ (88). They've gotten terrific pitching and it's going to waste because of a poor offense. For shame. The underlying numbers aren't as spectacular, though Lugo has been just about as good this year as last year, when he finished second in the AL Cy Young voting. The trade market figures to be short on quality starters. Cashing in Lugo, who has a $15 million player option for 2026, as a trade chip may be the best way for Kansas City to get the offensive help they so desperately need,” they wrote.

There have been rumors suggesting that the Cubs are willing to part ways with multiple top prospects if it gets them a player in return who could put them over the top. 

While Lugo could be that, he also has a player option at the end of the season. The last thing the Cubs want is to move multiple top prospects to lose the veteran right-hander in a few months.

Related: Cubs Predicted to Add Matt Shaw Replacement at Trade Deadline

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.