Giants Rumors: MLB insider links Cubs to potential rotation trade as sell-off begins

The SF Giants are preparing for a trade deadline sell-off and starting pitcher Robbie Ray is one of the more obvious players who will be on the move. Plenty of teams could use him but Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently mused that the Chicago Cubs would be a perfect trade partner for San Francisco.

The Cubs need some starting pitching help and they are right in the thick of the playoff race as they’re in second place in the National League Central, currently six games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, and they are the No. 1 team in the NL Wild Card standings.

Trading for Ray would give their rotation a nice boost, but the question Giants fans likely have is what can San Francisco get out of a deal with the Cubs?

Prospects Giants could target if they trade Ray to Cubs

Chicago has some interesting prospects and there’s a few routes the Giants could go. If they want to continue to infuse their farm system with more promising young arms, like they did during the MLB Draft, they could try to pry right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins who is the No. 3 prospect in Chicago’s system.

He’s 24 years old and has a 6.45 ERA in the minors this season but last season he had a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings pitched. He was on the IL earlier this season and has only made eight starts which may explain his struggles, but he features a plus fastball and a really wicked slider with a changeup that’s still coming along.

He’d become one of San Francisco’s top-10 prospects immediately and could even make his big league debut at some point in 2026.

The Giants could also try to get a young catcher after they chose not to draft one in the MLB Draft. Owen Ayers is a name to watch as he’s a switch-hitter who is hitting .316/.427/.621 with 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in on the season in the minors. The Giants are already leaning on three rookie catchers in Daniel Susac, Jesus Rodriguez, and Drew Cavanaugh so why not add another to the mix?

San Francisco could also look to land a promising young bullpen arm like Erian Rodriguez or Luis Martinez-Gomez. The bullpen has to be improved after this season and the trade market could be a good way to do it.

In a dream scenario the Giants would be able to land one of each. If Buster Posey could land Wiggins, Ayers, and Martinez-Gomez for Ray that would be a great haul and the Cubs may be desperate enough for pitching that they’d be willing to do it.

While it would be a lot more fun for the Giants to be buying ahead of the deadline, they can at least take advantage of the desperation of other teams as they look to make a playoff push so maybe they can fleece Chicago in the process.

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