Report: Cubs Were Interested In Acquiring Drew Pomeranz, Then Flipping Him

(CBS) It's no secret that the Cubs covet more pitching, as their eyes are notably on upgrading the bullpen but also adding a cost-controlled young starter at some point.

General manager Jed Hoyer acknowledged as much Tuesday.

"You can never have enough pitching," Hoyer said. "Whether we make a trade to address that, we will see."

Along those lines, the Cubs were recently involved in preliminary discussions for left-hander Drew Pomeranz before the Padres dealt him to the Red Sox last week, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported. There's a catch, though. The Cubs didn't envision adding Pomeranz, who's under team control through 2018, to their rotation, Rosenthal reported. Instead, they wanted to flip him to another team for an unidentified starter under team control for a longer period of time than Pomeranz, according to Rosenthal.

The Padres wanted infielder Javier Baez from the Cubs in any potential deal for Pomeranz, but Chicago viewed that cost as too high.

San Diego received right-hander Anderson Espinoza, a highly regarded prospect in the low levels of the minor leagues, in exchange for Pomeranz, who has a 2.47 ERA and 1.06 WHIP this season.