The Chicago Cubs have started the 2026 season as one of the hottest teams in baseball, despite dealing with countless injuries to their pitching staff. 10 pitchers have made trips to the IL this year, yet the Cubs still managed to lead a tightly contested NL Central with a 27-16 record.
Coming out of the gate, Edward Cabrera looked like he might be a steal for the Cubs. He only gave up 3 runs in his first three starts, but has cooled off with a less consistent May. Fortunately for Cabrera, his best ability has been availability.
Matthew Boyd, Justin Steele, Cade Horton, and top prospect Jaxon Wiggins have all missed time this year, while Cabrera has been a massive innings eater at the very least for the Cubs, going at least 5 innings in every appearance this season.
Chicago is obviously still needing more out of Cabrera, but their offseason acquisition for him is currently looking like a steal. Cabrera was traded from the Marlins for a three-player deal, with the center piece being Owen Caissie. Infield prospects Christian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon were the other pieces in the deal, but they are many years away from reaching the big leagues, if they ever do.
Caissie was supposed to be an immediate-impact bat for the Marlins, but has been anything but that to start his tenure with the Marlins. He’s currently slashing .205/.259/.348 with three home runs. Not only that, but despite the obvious intangibles he can bring with his athleticism, they haven’t translated into production on defense, as he has been one of the worst position players in the sport.
He currently has -5 fielding run value, the worst in the sport, first percentile arm value, and 5th percentile range, all while playing one of the easiest defensive positions in the sport. The Marlins didn’t trade for his defense; they traded for the bat, and that has some massive concerns as well.
A high strikeout rate can be ignored if there’s enough production, but that isn’t the case. Caissie currently holds a 40.7 K%, which can be attributed to a whiff% in the 8th percentile. He also holds a nearly 40% ground ball rate, so even if he’s hitting it hard, it hasn’t been very productive.
Essentially, I think the Cubs sold high on a prospect and landed a guy in a position of need in Cabrera. Chicago seems to be in a position to contend this season, and they might need to swing for another front-line starter at the deadline. For now, they found a very solid middle of the rotation piece in Cabrera, and he has the potential to outperform that baseline as well.
