AP Photo/Andrew Seligman

The Rundown: Deadline Circus Fails to Impress Many Cubs Fans, Pressly DFA’d, Relievers Dominate Biggest Moves

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 1, 2025

“Still don’t know what I was waiting for…And my time was running wild, a million dead-end streets. And every time I thought I’d got it made it seemed the taste was not so sweet.” – Changes by David Bowie

The circus we call the trade deadline has passed, and Jed Hoyer added 2-4 wins without breaking a sweat or sending his farm system to an East Side chop shop. You would think that would make fans happy, but nah. The fans who are pissed that Hoyer refused to pay up for MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller, or Edward Cabrera are the same ones still bitching that the Cubs sent Dylan Cease and Eloy Jiménez — plus two additional prospects — to the White Sox for José Quintana in 2017.

As a reminder, nobody paid the absurdly high costs for the four controllable starters who were presumably available. Frankly speaking, those players may fetch greater returns in the winter if they are made available to everybody. Further, the irony of potentially trading Owen Caissie and a couple other prospects for two months of Cease is laughable. If the Cubs acquired four wins in an overpay for Cease, that would be good, yes? But acquiring four wins for a bunch of depth prospects who never would have started for the Cubs is bad? Give me a break. Don’t forget the Reds, Pirates, and Brewers have very good farm systems, so taking a long tail approach is probably the best path forward.

If you wanna be pissed at Chicago’s front office, why not cry about not signing Quintana this year? The Brewers gave the ex-Cub $2 million with a $2 million buyout after this season, a pittance in baseball’s current financial ecosystem. He’s 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA, and the bulk of his earned runs surrendered (34.3%) in a pair of losses, one each to the Cubs and Cardinals.

No one is harder on Hoyer than me, but it’s admirable that he sticks to his guns. Michael Soroka, Andrew Kittredge, Taylor Rogers, and Willi Castro will help the Cubs this year and probably be forgotten in 2026. We should all be okay with that. The Cubs can’t sell the farm at the deadline just to compete with the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, and Mets when the task at hand is overcoming the Brewers. Four additional wins should be sufficient.

I might have liked it if Hoyer and his entourage outbid their MLB brethren for an experienced closer. That said, I love the confidence the organization is showing in Daniel Palencia because he could be elite for the next several seasons at a fraction of the cost of all the others. The best bullpens usually win in the postseason, however, so I love what the Mets and Yankees did this week. That might be my only regret, but if the Cubs get the best of Soroka as a reliever – and I believe they will – he’s a sneaky good pickup.

One last thing, if I may. Hoyer’s failure to land a controllable starter has nothing to do with whether Kyle Tucker will sign an extension or not. That seems to be the collective mindset on social media and many Cubs podcasts. Tucker earned the right to test free agency, and he is not going to give that up with $500 million or more on the table. He likes the organization, loves Chicago, and Hoyer has built a sustainable, competitive team. He certainly wasn’t going to sign an extension with the Astros, so they traded him to the Cubs as a one-year rental. If Hoyer meets Tucker’s demands in the offseason, he’ll be back. If not, Caissie and Kevin Alcántara are ready by all accounts.

Oh wait, I almost forgot. The chances are extraordinarily high that a work stoppage is coming after next season. Trading for Gore or Ryan might have kicked Hoyer in the ass if he lost one of their two controllable seasons. Would you give up a package for either that included two or three of Caissie, Matt Shaw, Cade Horton, Jaxon Wiggins, Kevin Alcantara and/or Moisés Ballesteros if a lockout in 2027 was a near certainty? Most of us would be heavily reluctant if the chances were 50 percent.

I give Hoyer a solid B for his new additions and I hope I’ve helped alleviate your trade deadline hangover. The Cubs kept their top 12 prospects and still improved enough to potentially win the NL Central. As an added bonus, we’ll probably get to see what Caissie can do at this level in September. All good things.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Hoyer’s biggest fault may be that he’s just too predictable.

Central Intelligence

Deadline Headlines

  1. Twins – If you’re going to go all in, close your eyes and push “send.” Minnesota traded just about everybody except Ryan, who probably wishes he was sent to the Cubs or Red Sox. The front office completely vacated its bullpen, trading studs Jhoan Durán (Phillies) and Griffin Jax (Rays). Middle relievers Louis Varland (Blue Jays), Brock Stewart (Dodgers), and Danny Coulombe (Rangers) were also dealt. Castro (Cubs), infielder Ty France (Blue Jays), and outfielder Harrison Bader (Phillies), all on expiring deals, were flipped for prospects. Carlos Correa was traded to the Astros, though Minnesota is eating over $30 million in salary. That’s as scorched earth as it gets.
  2. Mariners – They landed the best offensive player, Eugenio Suárez (143 OPS+), and another masher in Josh Naylor (120). Suárez is going to be protected by Cal Raleigh (177), who will probably bat in front of Naylor. That’s a lot of firepower.
  3. Brewers and Cubs – Does either want to win the division? We talked about Chicago’s additions above, but Milwaukee added just two players: Jordan Montgomery (who’s out for the year) and ex-Cub Shelby Miller. They’re also banking a lot on regression aversion from Quintana and Andrew Vaughn. That said, Brandon Woodruff looks as good as ever, at least so far.
  4. New York Bullpens – The Yankees added Bednar and flamethrower Camilo Doval from the Giants. With Devin Williams already on the roster, New York now has three pitchers who were dominant National League closers at some point in the past two years. The Mets added Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley, who led the majors with 49 saves last year, and acquired Gregory Soto a few days earlier. Their bullpen is so deep that their starters won’t go more than five innings once the playoffs start.
  5. Padres – AJ Preller is the real-life Brad Pitt. San Diego has the Dodgers checking the rearview after acquiring Mason Miller and JP Sears from the A’s. Preller can simultaneously morph from buyer to seller with the best of them, but decided to hang on to Cease and closer Robert Suárez. The Padres also added Cortes, DH Ryan O’Hearn, outfielder Ramón Laureano, and catcher Freddy Fermin

Final Word: The Cubs didn’t separate themselves much from the Brewers if you include Woodruff as a midseason addition. Chicago’s path to the World Series is a lot tougher now, however. Castro is going to be an x-factor for the North Siders, offering the same type of versatility and offensive skills that the team has missed since Ben Zobrist retired.

Extra Innings

By the way, no one should think Tucker leaving is a foregone conclusion. The Cubs are well-positioned to keep him if they want to. Just trading for the right fielder was considered to be outside of Hoyer’s comfort zone.

They Said It

  • “I always think that all-in is sort of a narrative. You’re always doing moves for now and the future and trying to balance those.” – Hoyer
  • “Marginal value of a win. If you’re going from 85 to 87 [or more] wins, [that’s] really important. That might be the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs. Going from 75 to 77, not that important. You’re unlikely to make the playoffs.” – Carter Hawkins

Friday Walk Up Song

If anything, Hoyer never fails to challenge the team he’s assembled. The Brewers are a thorn in the asses of Cubs fans every year because they always rise up when called to. The Cubs are on a pace to win 94 games and 98 will comfortable get them the division. Cutting Pressly alone gets them a quarter of the way there. Their soft schedule gets theme an extra win or two, too.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 1, 2025
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