In an offseason that has already seen contenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays take big steps, the Chicago Cubs took a different approach. After winning 92 games last season, the Cubs have remained relatively quiet this winter.
But the team finally made a big addition on Wednesday. The Cubs have finalized a trade with the Miami Marlins to land star Edward Cabrera, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In exchange, they sent outfield prospect Owen Caissie, infielder Christian Hernandez and third baseman Edgardo DeLeon to Miami.
Cabrera, 27, had the best season of his career in 2025, posting a 3.53 ERA over a career-high 137 2/3 innings.
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For years, Cabrera was considered a high potential pitcher with significant flaws. While he hasn’t completely eliminated these flaws in 2025, he has made great strides in improving his control, which has led to his career season. Cabrera reduced his walk rate to 8.3% in 2025. His previous career low in this stat was 11.3%, so this was a notable improvement.
This improvement was driven by a change in his pitch mix. Cabrera relied much less on his four-seam fastball, which — despite its solid velocity — was routinely hit hard and landed outside the strike zone too often. Instead, Cabrera focused on increasing his percentage of breaking pitches, which have consistently rated highly according to throwing metrics. He also prioritized using a sinker, and while the pitch wasn’t effective, Cabrera controlled it well, allowing him to get ahead of hitters more consistently so he could fend them off with his breaking balls.
While an encouraging change, Cabrera still struggled to stay healthy in 2025. Although he threw a career-high 137 2/3 innings, he missed time with elbow issues later in the year. He was able to return to action after missing some time and pitched quite well down the stretch despite the injuries.
Still, injuries have been a constant problem for Cabrera since he broke into the majors in 2022. He has never pitched more than 26 games in the majors in a single season. And hasn’t pitched more than 150 innings in a single season – including his minor league starts – since 2019.
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The acquisition carries risks, although it won’t cost the Cubs too much. Cabrera is arbitration eligible through the 2028 MLB season and will not be a free agent until 2029.
This is arguably the most important decision the Cubs have made this offseason. The team made waves in November when they refused an option on starter Shota Imanaga. But the pitcher later returned after the team offered him a $22 million one-year qualifying offer.
In addition to those two, the Cubs rotation should also include 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd, promising youngster Cade Horton and veteran Jameson Taillon — at least until Justin Steele can return from Tommy John surgery.
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It’s not the perfect rotation, but it’s enough to keep the team in contention, especially if Boyd and Taillon can continue to age gracefully and Imanaga bounces back after a rocky second season in the majors.
With the rotation seemingly established, the Cubs can now turn their attention to the lineup, where the team is looking to replace Kyle Tucker. On paper, the Cubs offense still has plenty of talent without the star outfielder, but another big move could be what pushes the Cubs from being a good team to being a legitimate World Series contender.
