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Lucas Giolito was on the Cubs' radar, but he ultimately went to the Padres. Unfortunately, this only magnifies the problems their rotation is having with injuries.

The Chicago Cubs are starting to play much better baseball as of late. After a relatively slow start, the North Siders have won nine consecutive games and surged to the top of the National League Central. They have been able to do this even in the midst of all of the issues they are currently facing with their starting rotation.

Matthew Boyd has been out with a bicep injury, while Justin Steele is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and Cade Horton had surgery of his own. Horton will miss the rest of the 2026 season.

Lucas Giolito recently signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the San Diego Padres, though the Cubs were one of the teams that showed interest. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, they came pretty close to landing him, but fell short in one key area.

“Cubs made an offer but were outbid,” Heyman posted on X.

Cubs’ Lucas Giolito Failure Looms Large

The fact that the Padres were able to land him for just $3 million shows that it was ultimately a steal. But the Cubs, getting outbid as a big-market team on that type of contract highlights other problems.

They need rotation help if they want to stay at the top of the NL Central, and they had a chance to sign Giolito, but somehow found themselves outbid by the Padres. If the contract was more expensive than $3 million, then perhaps being outbid would make sense, but the Cubs have a lot of financial resources, so it’s certainly interesting that they were outbid at this price.

In addition, they have a lot of injuries. The rotation is performing well, but if they want that to last, they’re going to need some reinforcements later on in the season. Boyd will be back soon, but Horton being out for the year certainly hurts.

Being able to sign Giolito would have given them the opportunity to have someone to simply plug into the rotation in the event of an injury, but now, they’re going to have to potentially wait a little while.

The deadline will be a good opportunity for them to fortify their rotation, if it is able to withstand being without some key pieces. If they want the best possible pitchers, then they will likely have to wait until the deadline to get what they need and put themselves in position to win the NL Central for the first time since 2020.

Giolito spent the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox and went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts.

What’s Next for Cubs?

If the Cubs want an immediate fix, they could always pursue Taijuan Walker, who was let go by the Philadelphia Phillies after posting a 9.31 ERA. He could eat some innings, but the quality of starting pitching is very important too.

Walker hasn’t been himself lately, and it might be best for the Cubs to wait until better options become available, which won’t be for another few months with the deadline far away.