Over the offseason there has been a large call for an additional arm in the starting rotation. With the addition of Mikolas (who was also the Cubs top target) we have a projected starting rotation of:
1. Martinez
2. Wacha
3. Wainwright
4. Weaver
5. Mikolas
Looking at this you have Wacha who has an injury history, Wainwright who is on the decline, Weaver who is still an unknown, and Mikolas who may or may not be good. So a lot of question marks. The pitchers we may look into are:
1. Jake Arrieta - 14-7, 3.53 ERA,168 IP, 163 strike outs in 2017
2. Yu Darvish - 10-12, 3.86 ERA, 186 IP, 203 strike outs in 2017
3. Chris Archer - 10-12, 4.07 ERA, 201 IP, 250 strike outs in 2017
Each of these guys would be a positive addition to our rotation but if you think about the cost is it really worth it. With Arrieta and Darvish you have not only the cost of over $100 million but you’re also taking a risk of getting their decline years. Archer would be the best option but I would guess they would ask for at least 2 of our top pitching prospects.
Now let’s look at what we have in young controllable players:
1. Alex Reyes
2. Jack Flaherty
3. John Gant
3. Dakota Hudson
4. Auston Gomber
5. Ryan Helsley
So right now we can slate Reyes as Wainwrights replacement whether it be mid season from Wainwright decline or (hopefully) next season to allow him to rebuild arm strength. Jack Flaherty did not have a good first showing but is known for having above average control throughout his career so I think he’ll be up to snuff going forward and replace whoever falters first between Mikolas and Weaver. Than the next four have seen time at AAA and have been very successful. My stance is that we may have a lot of question marks in the rotation but most of our question marks revolve around prospects. We have 11 viable starting options and adding an outside pitcher will just put us in the same position we’re in with our outfield. Arrieta, Darvish, and Archer may be big deals now but every pitcher was a question mark at some point in time, why not let the kids play and see what we have before we move on to someone else.
