Two Brewers Division Rivals Reportedly in Trade Talks for Pair of Starting Pitchers

The vibes in Milwaukee are good right now with word that the future of the franchise is about to be locked down for the foreseeable future. But while that is being finalized, division rivals continue to build their teams up on their own terms.

Two of them, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, are on the hunt for improvements to their starting rotation, much like the St. Louis Cardinals based on recent activity. According to Jon Morosi, it's a pair of AL starting pitching trade candidates that have caugh the eye of the Cubs and Reds.

The first pitcher the two teams have been connected to is Guardians hurler Shane Bieber. That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise because who wouldn't want a former Cy Young winner on their squad?

Bieber has been one of the top pitchers in the American League since debuting back in 2018. In 134 career games (132 starts), he has gone 60-32 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, and 938 strikeouts compared to 187 walks.

Even without the stats, the accolades speak for themselves. Bieber is a two-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove for the first time in 2022. But perhaps most importantly, he took home the AL Cy Young in the shortened 2020 season, a season that he led all of Major League Baseball in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.

While the two Brewers rivals have been linked to Cleveland's Shane Bieber in trade talks, the same goes for Tampa's Tyler Glasnow.

Morosi also links the Milwaukee rivals to Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays. Two years older than Bieber, the former 5th rounder brings a mix of swing-and-miss potential with a history of seasons shortened by injuries.

Glasnow has 127 games under his belt, 88 of them starts, and has a career 3.89 ERA with a 1.206 WHIP. He also has a career 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and has had a mark above 10.0 in every season since 2018.

But since being converted to a full-time starter in 2018, Glasnow has missed a lot of time due to injury. 2023 was the first time he made more than 14 starts in a season and even that was only a 21-start season after his debut was delayed due to an oblique injury.

Still, the talent is there as it is with Bieber. There is still a long road to travel before a trade is worked out for either team, but for Brewers fans' sake, let's hope there end up being impassable roadblocks for both rivals.