The Chicago Cubs' rotation is complete for the 2026 season. 

After acquiring Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins earlier this week, the Cubs solved their rotation need. The team needed a frontline starting pitcher, and the addition of Cabrera immediately solves that.  

So, here is how the rotation will look on Opening Day. 

Cade Horton has a very realistic shot at being the Cubs’ Opening Day starting pitcher. He was arguably the best pitcher in the second half of the 2025 season with a 1.03 ERA and 54 strikeouts across the final 2 ½ months. 

He has the potential to pick up where he left off last year. His Pitching Run Value, Fastball Run Value, Breaking Run Value, and Offspeed Run Value all ranked in the upper half of the league in his rookie season. Therefore, the sky is the limit for Horton in Year 2. 

Matthew Boyd is coming off a career year in 2025, in which he made his first All-Star appearance. He finished with a 3.21 ERA and 154 strikeouts across 179 ⅔ innings pitched and landed in the 97th percentile in Offspeed Run Value. 

Although Boyd did appear to gas out toward the end of the year, he will remain a key part of Chicago’s rotation in 2026. He has a chance to be the Cubs’ Opening Day starter and will look to build on last season’s numbers. 

The newest addition to the Cubs will round out this rotation. The team is hoping that Cabrera can develop into a top-tier starting pitcher after finishing with a 3.53 ERA and a career-high 150 strikeouts last season. 

Cabrera will lean on his elite offspeed pitches and will bring velocity to this Cubs’ rotation. The right-hander averaged 96.9 mph on his fastball in 2025. Hopefully, he can stay healthy throughout the 2026 season. 

There were question marks about whether Shota Imanaga would return this year. But he accepted the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Cubs earlier this offseason. So, he’ll slot back into this Chicago rotation. 

Imanaga is hoping to be a completely different pitcher than he was in the second half of 2025. The southpaw had a 5.17 ERA over his final 12 starts in the regular season. He’s hoping to return to his rookie year form when he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young voting. 

Jameson Taillon might just be the most underrated pitcher in the Cubs’ rotation. He has delivered solid numbers on the mound in back-to-back seasons and continues to get outs at a high level. 

In 2024, Taillon finished with a 3.27 ERA and 125 strikeouts across 165 ⅓ innings pitched. Last year, the 34-year-old had a 3.68 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 129 ⅔ innings pitched. So, he’ll be a consistent No. 5 starter for the Cubs in 2026.