Despite the Cubs recent overdrafts of pitching prospects, the consensus this winter is that the Cubs need to acquire more pitchers. Whether Jeff Samardzija is packaged to a team for pitchers in return, the Cubs have no readily available arm talent in the high minors.
And most fans now realize that the Cubs have put the major league team in neutral and disconnected the battery and ignition systems.
2014 is going to be the same as 2013 and 2012,
As such, if the Cubs are going to be competitive any time soon, the team needs to find "major league ready" starters now. The best way to do so is try to find another Travis Wood deal. Wood was a young pitcher with the Reds who was in flux between being the 5th or 6th starter with the Reds and AAA. The Cubs traded Sean Marshall to Wood in a trade that helped both clubs pitching needs. Wood has turned out to be a reliable, consistent starter.
The Cubs need to find more AAA/ML ready 6th starters who are blocked by their current teams ML roster. The alternative is to trade veterans for more lower level prospects with more "potential" upside, but those players would be years away from competing for a major league position.
Fans want more movement on the major league roster. They have grown tired about the wait and see program. They have concentrated their baseball passion on the Cubs minor league teams. Many have found that despite the hype, the Cubs minor league system does not have very many quality starting pitchers.
If the Cubs can trade veterans like Samardzija and Schierholtz for major league ready pitchers then the team should do so without blinking an eye. The plan is to have all the position players reach the majors around the same time. But in order to be successful upon their debuts, the Cubs will need to have a solid pitching staff.
