Cubs Could Target These 2 Twins Pitchers if Minnesota Sells
The Twins are currently one of the worst teams in baseball, sitting at 5-11 after their victory on Sunday over Detroit. Their poor play is turning up the heat on conversations about whether the Twins will be selling this year. If they do indeed put some of their best players on the market, the Cubs will likely be one of the first teams to inquire about the pitching talent.
That might have been the case regardless, but losing Justin Steele for the season means Jed Hoyer is going to have to start looking for help.
Despite their rough start, Rocco Baldelli‘s pitching staff has some good arms worth looking into. The first is Pablo López, who was a possible Cubs target this winter. López was the subject of trade talks, but his team-friendly contract meant the price to trade for him was out of reach. López is under team control for three more seasons, set to earn $21.75 million during each of those years.
López was off to an incredible start in 2025, posting a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings, and his walk rate is one of the best in baseball. The Cubs have long been in search of strike-throwers, and control issues have plagued them early in the season. One wrinkle to this potential match is that the Twins placed López on the injured list last Friday with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That may be more of a precautionary move and medicals would have to be exchanged, but it’s worth looking into.
Pablo López, Dirty 86mph Sweeper. 😨 pic.twitter.com/q0yFlyEu8m
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2025
When examining Minnesota’s bullpen, 30-year-old righty Griffin Jax stands out. Jax came through the Twins’ minor league system as a starting pitcher, but transitioned to a reliever once he reached the big leagues. His fastball sits around 97mph and his firm changeup has helped him get to a 56.8% chase rate, one of the best in baseball.
His experience as a starter gives him an advantage over other relievers, as the Cubs have shown that they enjoy arms who can last multiple innings. Similar to López, his 4.3% walk rate is near the top of baseball.
Captain Jax got back on track tonight! pic.twitter.com/XTAapBCZ40
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) April 10, 2025
There isn’t anything wrong with the Cubs offense at this point, but the pitching was having issues even before the loss of Steele. Acquiring López and/or Jax not only signals that they’re staying aggressive, but also gives Hoyer two quality arms for the foreseeable future.
