Cubs' Trade Idea Lands Two-Time World Series Champion Pitcher

A recent trade idea lands the Chicago Cubs a two-time World Series champion as an under-the-radar starting pitching addition.

Cubs' Trade Idea Lands Two-Time World Series Champion Pitcher originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Chicago Cubs will be one of many teams in the busy starting pitching market as the 2025 MLB trade deadline approaches. Many experts believe teams will have to overpay for quality pitching at the deadline because the demand is so high.

However, a recent trade idea for the Cubs suggests an option that wouldn't be very expensive and many teams may overlook. North Side Baseball's Jason Ross suggests the Cubs explore a trade for Baltimore Orioles' starter Charlie Morton.

Morton is in his 18th year in the MLB, and is still pitching as an everyday starter. His career has been highlighted by his two World Series championships with the Houston Astros in 2017 and the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

The veteran pitcher's numbers aren't anything special in 2025, holding a 5.18 ERA with a WHIP over 1.5. However, Ross points out that Morton's season numbers don't tell the whole story.

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher dealt on Monday, working six innings en route to his first victory this season. Baltimore beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2. © Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images© Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

"Over Morton's first 36 2/3 innings, the right-handed pitcher had a disgusting ERA that sat over 8.00, struck out under 20% of hitters, and walked a whopping 12.8% of those he faced. This is very much un-Morton-like; he's had just one season where he walked even 10% of hitters since his revolution in Houston back in 2016," Ross wrote. "It was looking pretty ugly for the pitcher early in 2025. Morton's numbers made him look washed.

"Something seemed to click on May 17, however, because since then, he's been significantly better. Since then, in a sample size over 40 innings pitched (and six starts), he has posted a 2.88 ERA."

Morton has significantly improved over the last two months, and it hasn't been just luck. Going beyond his ERA, Ross dove into Morton's increase in strikeout rate and decrease in walk rate, which have led to his improvement.

"We can see that his xFIP is 3.19 in that span, and goes along with a .349 opponent BABIP. As well, his strikeout rate has shot up to over 28% and his walk rate has dropped below 7%. Even better, Morton's average fastball velocity has jumped over 0.5 mph, as his average velocity now sits at 94.5 mph," Ross wrote. "He's not merely the beneficiary of good sequencing, stranding lots of runners, or great defensive support—signs we'd expect if a pitcher was just getting lucky. Maybe Morton's still fighting off Father Time, after all."

Morton's stats behind the ERA suggest that his improvement throughout the first half of the season is sustainable. A large part of that sustainability has been his first-pitch strike ability.

In his rough beginning to the first half of the season, Morton fell behind hitters and it forced him away from his best pitch, the curveball. However, as he increased his first-pitch strike percentage, he has been able to work ahead of hitters and utilize his curveball more often.

"Between Opening Day and his appearance against Minnesota on May 14, Charlie threw a strike on just 55.3% of hitters he faced. This is around 4-5% lower than Morton is used to getting, putting him behind in the count and forcing him to rely more on the fastball," Ross wrote. "Since re-joining the Baltimore rotation, Morton's first-strike% has jumped from just 55% to over 64%. To put the visualization into raw data, before May 17, Morton's swing-and-miss% was 9.3%. Since then, it's jumped to 16.5%."

Even with his improvement throughout the season, Morton is 41 years old. While this will bring his price down for the Cubs, it also makes it riskier. However, Morton has demonstrated his durability over his now 18 years in the league.

The Cubs may elect to go after one of the top starting pitchers on the market at the trade deadline, but don't be surprised if they double down on starting pitching and get an under-the-radar guy like Morton as well. After all, the pitchers who have performed well for Chicago this season haven't been the stars anyone would have expected.

Related: MLB Insiders Reveal Cubs' Trade Deadline Plans, Options

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.

Category: Baseball