The Miami Marlins are likely to be sellers at the trade deadline, and the Chicago Cubs are linked to ace Sandy Alcantara per MLB insider Jeff Passan. "Among Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon,

The Chicago Cubs go into MLB games today with one of the best records in baseball, outperforming expectations even amid

The Philadelphia Phillies tagged Ben Brown for three runs in the first inning on the way to a 7-2 win Wednesday to take the series over the Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs should trade for Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara, according to one Major League Baseball insider.

The Chicago Cubs are going to be in the market for starting pitching. MLB insider Jeff Passan continues to see Sandy Alcantara as the best fit for them.

“It’s not just that the Cubs’ rotation has been mediocre this far into the season – their starters have been below-average whether you use Wins Above Replacement, ERA or strikeout rate to rank them,” wrote Eno Sarris. “What’s more worrisome is what their rotation is likely to do going forward.

With Justin Steele out, the Cubs need another pitcher to keep them atop the National League standings. Sandy Alcantara could be that player.

So, even though it’s a fair price, the Marlins will probably hold out for better, even if it means betting that Alcantara will recover at least some of his form, thus raising his value. In summing up his assessment of the trade from the Marlins’ point of view, Bassett accurately writes this:

The Pittsburgh Pirates (28-41) and the Chicago Cubs (41-27) open a 4-game series Thursday. First pitch from Wrigley Field in Chicago is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Pirates vs. Cubs odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.