-
Jesse Rogers
The Cubs on Wednesday acquired pitcher Edward Cabrera in a trade with the Marlins that sent top outfield prospect Owen Caissie and two other hitting prospects to Miami.
The Cubs also dealt away infield prospects Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon in exchange for Cabrera, a popular trade target for multiple contenders who will improve a Chicago rotation that includes veterans Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last month that the organization was “in the market” to acquire pitching help — in the rotation and in the bullpen. Cabrera’s swing-and-miss ability is attractive to a Cubs organization that lacks that attribute in its rotation.
The Cubs also have starting candidates in Cade Horton, Javier Assad and eventually Justin Steele, who is recovering from elbow surgery.
But the team paid a hefty price by parting with Caissie, recently rated by ESPN as Chicago’s No. 2 organizational prospect and the No. 49 overall prospect in Major League Baseball.
The trade also means Chicago has a need for more offense, as its run-scoring projection for 2026 was relatively tenuous even with Caissie in the outfield mix.
The Cubs haven’t hit the free agent market in a big way this winter yet, but their right fielder from last season — Kyle Tucker — is still available, as are infielders Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman as well as former Cub Cody Bellinger. The Cubs have spoken to the agents of all the above players, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Hard-throwing Cabrera is coming off the best season of his career in 2025, when he went 8-7 with a 3.53 ERA with career highs of 150 strikeouts over 137⅔ innings.
Cabrera, who turns 28 in April, also remains under contractual control for three more seasons before being eligible for free agency after the 2028 season. The right-hander has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, however, appearing in just 89 games over parts of five seasons with the Marlins. He has had elbow and shoulder issues during his time in the majors but stayed relatively healthy in 2025.
Cabrera is due a raise in 2026 but just off a base salary of $1.95 million from last season. Starting pitching options available in free agency are much more expensive.
Caissie, 23, debuted in the majors last season and appeared in 12 games with the Cubs, batting .192 with one home run. He was outstanding in 99 games last season at Triple-A Iowa, batting .286 with 22 homers and a .937 OPS.
Hernandez, 22, spent last season at High-A, batting .252 with 52 stolen bases while playing second base and shortstop. He’s been in the Cubs organization since the team signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. ESPN ranked Hernandez as Chicago’s 10th-best prospect.
De Leon, 18, played in the Arizona Complex League last year, hitting .276 while playing mostly corner infield positions.