Cubs Should Target Rays Pitcher In Free Agency This Offseason
The Chicago Cubs have one of the best offenses in baseball, but need to fix the starting rotation this offseason.
The Cubs have Edward Cabrera under contract for next season, and Matthew Boyd has a mutual option. However, outside of them, there are no real reliable starters in the rotation for next year. Justin Steele could return to his All-Star form if he's healthy, but the Cubs still need to add some starting pitching. They should try to sign Freddy Peralta.
The Cubs know Peralta well from facing him while he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, where Craig Counsell was his manager for years. However, last offseason, the Brewers traded him to the New York Mets, where he struggled. The Mets traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline, and they made a ton of changes for him.
With the Mets, Peralta had a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts. In 10 starts with the Rays, he had a 3.25 ERA and posted a 0.79 ERA in his last six regular-season starts. He has been great in both of his postseason starts as well. The Rays had him pitch exclusively out of the stretch, moved him to the third base side of the rubber, widened his stance, upped his changeup usage and sped up his delivery.
He has looked more like the All-Star version of himself as of late, and that's a version that could be paid handsomely in free agency. The Cubs are playing catch-up with the Brewers, and adding Peralta could go a long way in closing the gap between the two teams right now.
Peralta did not play well in a big market, but has thrived in small markets like Milwaukee and Tampa Bay. Chicago is not a small market by any means, but comes with less pressure than New York.
More MLB: Braves Need To Check In On Trade For Astros All-Star
