After missing out on their top three targets, could the Chicago Cubs look to pull off a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Guardians?

The Chicago Cubs missed out on three of their top targets this winter when Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamto and Tyler Glasnow all landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It’s frustrating and it calls into question how a team like the Dodgers can do it all, but that’s the reality of the sport now.

Instead of whining about it, the Cubs must pivot and make some significant additions if they hope to win the National League Central and make a real run in the postseason.

The Athletic suggested in a recent article that Chicago could try and trade for Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber. It is has been reported that Bieber is on the trade block and it may make some sense considering the team control and cost aspect of Bieber compared to someone like Blake Snell.

It would take a lot for the Guardians to move Bieber who has been a perennial Cy Young candidate and flashes brilliance regularly. Luckily, the Cubs have plenty of prospect capital to make such a deal happen.

It also benefits the Cubs that the Guardians are not just in a different division but conference altogether. This may help quell the Guardians reservations of moving Bieber if they know he won’t be competing against them in a postseason race.

As the article points out, Chicago’s hiring of Craig Counsell was the first big splash of the winter but they need something to back up the signing of the best manager on the market whom they signed to a record deal.

A blockbuster trade with the Guardians for a new ace to place in their rotation qualifies as a significant move to back up their managerial change.