The Chicago Cubs returned home and have put together an offensive explosion that was lacking when they went on the road during their opening series.

There were questions if they would be able to carry over what they did against the Colorado Rockies into their high-profile matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they were able to win the opening game, pushing their record to 5-2 on the season.

If they are able to maintain this type of success throughout the first half of the year, then they likely would become buyers at the trade deadline as they chase their first playoff appearance since 2020.

With starting pitching always a premium, that probably would be the area the front office would target.

Injuries to Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon to start the season created some major red flags for the viability of this rotation moving forward.

A prime candidate to be dealt according to multiple insiders would have been the Cleveland Guardians’ ace Shane Bieber, who is playing out the final year of his contract before hitting free agency.

He looked like he was in his past Cy Young-winning form to start the year, as he hadn’t alowed a single run during his two starts that saw him strike out a Major League-leading 20 batters.

Unfortunately for Bieber and the Cubs, he will now miss the rest of the year after he will be undergoing Tommy John surgery as reported by Mandy Bell of MLB.com.

This is a huge blow to the Guardians and takes one of the better pitchers who might have been available off the board.

Chicago will still likely be looking for starting pitching later in the year, even when they get back their ace Steele and Taillon.