The Chicago Cubs landed one of the top starting pitchers on the trade market, acquiring right-hander Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the teams hadn’t yet announced the trade.
The Marlins received top outfield prospect Owen Caissie, Class A infielder Cristian Hernández and 18-year-old infielder Edgardo De Leon in the return package for Cabrera, 27, who struck out 150 batters in 137 innings for Miami last season. The Marlins, who posted a 56-33 record the final four months of the season, dealt from their starting pitching depth to land an outfielder who ranked among the top 65 prospects entering the 2025 season.
The Cubs are sticking to a recent ethos of pursuing improvements on the trade rather than free agent market. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2020 after trading for slugger Kyle Tucker, an impending free agent.
This time, they land Cabrera, who is under club control for three seasons and immediately becomes a key part of a Cubs rotation that saw the emergence of rookie Cade Horton in 2025, but also second-half struggles from left-handers Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd.
Cabrera made a career-high 26 starts last season, posting a 3.53 ERA and 3.83 fielding independent pitching mark, his best work in such a large sample. Cabrera missed a handful of second-half starts due to elbow issues; he didn’t pitch for 11 days around the All-Star break after an MRI revealed posterior right elbow discomfort, and spent three weeks on the injured list in September with a right elbow sprain.
Caissie, 23, made a 12-game debut with the Cubs last season, going 5-for-26, and has an .870 career OPS in five minor league seasons. He was recently ranked the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect, behind slugger Moises Ballesteros, by Baseball America.