Texas Rangers: Cubs would make a great trade partner for Kyle Gibson

The Chicago Cubs have surprised people in 2021 with their success. The Texas Rangers have not with their struggles.

That makes for some ideal trade circumstances, don’t you think?

At 40-32, the North Siders sit atop the NL Central division in a season many anticipated could be the beginning of a tear down for the them. Trading Yu Darvish to the Padres doesn’t exactly sound like winning, after all. They’re doing it though, and suddenly, the Cubs have gone from potential sellers to likely buyers.

It’s time for the Texas Rangers to swoop in and make an offer Chicago (N.L) can’t resist, like dangling SP Kyle Gibson in a trade.

The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers could be perfect trade partners this summer

Gibson, 33, is having a career year with the Rangers after a forgettable 2020, with a 2.09 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. “Gibby”, as he’s known around here, is effectively the ace of a poor Texas starting staff, and heck, he might even be the ace of a number of staffs across baseball with those numbers.

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The Cubs, on the other hand, have not gotten much production out of their starting staff overall, as they rank 21st in baseball collectively with a 4.69 ERA (ironically, the Rangers are 20th), and if they’re looking to capitalize on their surprise success, they’ll need starters to do so.

Gibson is signed through the 2022 season on what can now be considered a very team-friendly contract, which the Rangers can and should leverage in negotiations.

Chicago’s farm system isn’t exactly in the best shape, given that their main homegrown core have long graduated to the bigs. Still, they have some intriguing prospects as well as some young players on the MLB roster who could be appealing to a rebuilding Rangers team.

What would it take for the Cubs to land Gibson? A lot, if the Rangers can play their hand right.

In this trade proposal, we’ve asked for Chicago’s No. 6 prospect RHP Kohl Franklin, who projects as a mid-rotation starter with upside and could be ready by 2023, as well as No. 19 SS Kevin Morel, a shortstop in Rookie League ball who’s more of a projectable piece but also presents a level of upside that could intrigue the Rangers organization.

For the Cubs, they would get the starting rotation assistance they desperately need to make one last run with their 2016 World Series core, while Texas continues to eye the future with two solid prospects that would bolster their farm system and add more talent.