Jed Hoyer shocked the world when he traded Yu Darvish to the Padres for Zach Davies and four prospects with practically no professional experience. Since then, he’s rebuilt an entire staff that also lost Jon Lester, José Quintana, and sometimes-starter Tyler Chatwood.
The Cubs executive had specific details in mind when selecting those replacements. None are considered big throwers but have exhibited command and good movement with their pitches and tend to keep runners off of the basepaths. Each has a minor flaw or two that seems correctible enough that Hoyer is relying solely on the professionalism of the players and the team’s esteemed Pitch Lab to correct or mask them.