In an offseason that has seen contenders such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays already make big moves, the Chicago Cubs have taken a different approach. After winning 92 games last season, the Cubs have mostly been quiet this winter.
But the team finally made a big addition Wednesday, when the Cubs finalized a trade with the Miami Marlins to land starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, the teams announced. In exchange, Chicago is sending outfield prospect Owen Caissie, infielder Christian Hernandez and third baseman Edgardo De Leon to Miami.
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Cabrera, 27, turned in the best season of his career in 2025, posting a 3.53 ERA over a career-high 137 2/3 innings.
For years, Cabrera was viewed as a high-upside pitcher with significant flaws. While he didn’t completely eliminate those flaws in 2025, he made major strides improving his control, which led to a career season. Cabrera cut his walk rate down to 8.3%; his previous career low was 11.3%.
That improvement was spurred by a change in his pitch mix. Cabrera relied far less on his four-seam fastball, which — despite its solid velocity — routinely got hit hard and too often landed out of the strike zone. Instead, Cabrera upped his percentage of breaking balls, which have always graded out well by pitch metrics. He also prioritized using a sinker, and while the pitch wasn’t effective, he controlled it well, which allowed him to more consistently get ahead of batters.
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While it was an encouraging change, Cabrera still struggled to stay healthy in 2025. Although he threw a career-high 137 2/3 innings, he missed time due to elbow issues later in the year. He was able to return to action after missing some time and pitched fairly well down the stretch. Still, injuries have been a consistent issue for Cabrera since he broke into the majors in 2022. He has never pitched more than 26 games in a season in the majors, and he hasn’t thrown more than 150 innings in a season — including his minor-league starts — since 2019.
The acquisition comes with risk but also significant team control. Cabrera is arbitration-eligible through the 2028 MLB season and won’t be a free agent until 2029.
It’s arguably the most significant move the Cubs have made this offseason. The team made waves in November when it declined an option on starter Shota Imanaga. The pitcher later returned after the team offered him a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer.
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In addition to Cabrera and Imanaga, the Cubs’ rotation should also feature 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd, promising youngster Cade Horton and veteran Jameson Taillon — at least until Justin Steele is able to return from Tommy John surgery.
That’s not a perfect rotation, but it should be good enough to keep the team in contention, especially if Boyd and Taillon can continue to age gracefully and Imanaga bounces back after a rocky second season in the majors.
With the rotation seemingly set, the Cubs can now turn their attention to the lineup, where the team is looking to replace Kyle Tucker. On paper, the Cubs’ offense has plenty of talent even without the star outfielder, but one more big move could push the Cubs from a good team to a legitimate World Series contender.
