Last offseason the Chicago Cubs absolutely needed to acquire a top hitter and they got Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Now, heading into the 2026 season Jed Hoyer's top priority was to upgrade the rotation and he's delivered by trading for 27-year-old pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins.
Bleacher Nation's Micahel Cerami first reported the trade on Wednesday morning as the Cubs and Marlins were finalizing the deal. Cabrera has been a Cubs' target since at least last summer and may have been in trade discussion dating back to the winter of 2024, when the Cubs and Marlins almost completed a deal involving Jesus Luzardo. That trade ultimately fell through, but this time around the Cubs pushed the deal across the finish line and Hoyer accomplished his No. 1 goal of the offseason.
Cabrera may not have a long track record of success and fans my be put off by the history of injuries, but make no mistake about it, this guy has all the tools to become a stud and in 2025, the hard-throwing righty finally took a massive step forward in his development.
The Cubs have been searching for another impact arm to add to their starting rotation since last offseason and we saw the pitfalls of their failed quest of doing so when it came time to square off against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. Pitching has always been important and it's no secret that elite arms will get you far in October.
Cabrera has always had the pedigree, a top-100 prospect in the Marlins' minor league system for a handful of years, but injuries derailed his progress. Fans saw glimpses of his ability in 2022, when he had a 3.01 ERA in 14 starts, yet it still took him more time to get over the injury bug and get closer to reaching his full potential.
Since the 2024 All-Star break, Cabrera has stabilized his career. The Marlins didn't push him after injuries, but in 39 starts that covered 205.2 innings in the past 1.5 seasons Cabrera has posted a 3.54 ERA with a 24.8 K% while also producing a 47.1 ground ball rate.
In 2025, Cabrera made the most significant leap in his career as the right-handed starter lowered his walk rate to 8.3% after it was in the double digits through the first four seasons in the majors.
Just how good was Cabrera to end the 2025 season? Well, from May 4 through the end of the year he made 22 starts and recorded a 2.95 ERA in 119 innings. During that stretch he struck out 26.5% of the batters he faced and lowered the free passes to 7.5%. He maintained a ground ball rate nearing 50% and allowed less than a home run per nine innings pitched.
Now, a quick look at Cabrera's arsenal. For years Cubs fans have been desperate to have more power arms on the pitching staff and Cabrera fits the mold perfectly. His stuff is nasty, featuring a high 90s fastball with a devastating change up.
The Cubs aren't simply getting a quality pitcher with enormous upside, they're getting it on the cheap relatively speaking. Cabrera is under team control for three more years and estimated to earn shy of $4 million for the 2026 season.
As for the cost, the Cubs did have to trade away their top outfield prospect as Owen Caissie headlined the return for the Marlins. Cristian Hernandez, who was given a high signing bonus as an international free agent by the Cubs back in 2021, is the second player in the trade and 18-year-old Edgardo DeLeon rounds out the deal. DeLeon was part of the Cubs' 2024 international free agent signing class.
