AP Photo/David Banks

The Rundown: It’s Deadline Day, Cubs Acquire Gausman, Hoyer Still Shopping, Skubal to Dodgers, Peralta to Rays

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 3, 2026

“I’m all lost in the supermarket, I can no longer shop happily. I came here for the special offer…guaranteed personality.” — Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash

We’ve reached Deadline Day and Major League Baseball is about to become one gigantic public market clearing house. The Cubs are expected to make another splash or two, and I know for a fact that Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold told his players on Friday that they are going to leave no stone unturned in their quest to unseat the Dodgers.

Then Arnold outbid the Dodgers for Tarik Skubal and lost him anyway. Their focus is on Reid Detmers now, but someone like Robbie Ray or Casey Mize looks more realistic. Don’t be surprised that the Brewers did not reacquire Freddy Peralta because their interest was cursory at best. The organization respects and admires Peralta but never really considered bringing him back.

I’ve been busy at work (it’s audit season in my profession) so I apologize for the inconsistency in getting this column done. I’ve been working on it since Friday, in fact. I do have some decent baseball contacts in and around Milwaukee, and I am happy to share what I know. Let’s discuss Detmers first. Skubal was the hottest available rental this year and arguably ever. You can make a case that Detmers is the second-best available, or, at the very least, he’s carrying a lot of helium. I’ve been told Milwaukee’s offer to Detroit for Skubal was Luis Peña, Josh Knoth, and Logan Henderson. All that tells me is that the Tigers loved Zyhir Hope so Scott Harris got his man. The Brewers are not offering the same package for Detmers, at least for now.

The Cubs had no shot at Skubal because they could not have included Ben Brown, but they did get Kevin Gausman for non-notable prospects Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene. Toronto then acquired José Soriano, which means Josiah Hartshorn probably isn’t going anywhere. He might have been part of a package to acquire Detmers and Soriano, or so some rumors indicated. He wasn’t pulled for a potential Mason Miller trade, I promise. Let go of that fantasy. The Padres aren’t trading the best reliever in baseball, especially because Miller carries three years of club control.

That said, would you include Hartshorn in a trade for George Kirby or a package that included Kirby and Emerson Hancock? I would. That’s unlikely, however, because the Mariners aren’t necessarily seeking prospects, though they are cutting payroll. My gut tells me that Jed Hoyer will probably get another pending free agent to round out his rotation. He’ll probably address the bullpen, too. Luke Weaver might be somebody to think about, but we know Chicago’s president of baseball operations rarely shops the reliver aisle for name brands. Think about someone like Brooks Raley, instead.

Oops, Raley is going to the Phillies now. Let’s pivot to Jeff Hoffman.

By the way, Detmers remains a distinct possibility If the Cubs want to package Matt Shaw and Owen Ayers. How about Jacob deGrom with an extra year of control and a mutual option for 2028? Can I give you a dark horse starter or two? How about Ryan Feltner, Brandon Young, MacKenzie Gore, or Trevor Rogers? I mentioned Rogers in this column during the Cubs-Orioles series. Feltner might be an option for the Brewers who turned castoff hurlers Henderson and Quinn Priester into very good starters.

Hoyer is probably kicking himself because he might have been able to pry Aroldis Chapman and Sonny Gray from the Red Sox about a month ago. Boston is firmly on the buy side now, and like everybody else, they seek pitching and infield help. The Reds are reportedly listening to offers for Hunter Greene and he’d be a nice get for the BoSox. Cubs fans shouldn’t even think about Greene. It ain’t happening.

Regardless, today is a fun day to follow baseball. The rumors, speculation, and eventual trades will make for a busy and exhilarating afternoon. I’m positive Evan will be on top of every move and rumor.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Jacob Misiorowski blamed the mound in Anaheim for his 3-0 loss to the Angels. He followed that by saying he couldn’t blame the mound before continuing to…well you get it.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Peralta was traded to the Rays on Sunday for outfield prospect Aidan Smith, right-hander Gary Gill Hill, and infielder Émilien Pitre. The trade was announce during Tampa Bay’s 9-1 loss to the White Sox.

The Guardians have been seeking a right-handed hitting outfielder for about 10 years. They finally got their man, acquiring Jo Adell from the Angels for catching prospect Jacob Cozart. That may take the Cubs out of the running for Detmers, who were reportedly shopping a catcher to Los Angeles.

The White Sox acquired Luis Castillo in a trade with the Mariners, so Seattle will more likely than not hang on to Hancock and Kirby. Chicago packaged reliever Seranthony Domínguez, outfielder Nolan Jones, and catching prospect Boston Smith to get Castillo.

In fact you can book that. Seattle just acquired outfielder Taylor Ward from the Mariners. The trade has not been confirmed by either club, but is expected to be soon.

The Braves acquired veteran journeyman reliever Brent Suter from the Angels. Atlanta sent infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Los Angeles to complete the trade.

The South Siders also acquired reliever Huascar Brazobán from the Mets for Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin.

The Giants and Phillies agreed on a trade that sends second baseman Luis Arráez and pitcher Caleb Kilian to Philadelphia for right-handed pitchers Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair.

The Rangers are telling teams that none of their players are off-limits, and that list includes Gore, deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and shortstop Corey Seager. Seager will be a Brewer by nightfall if Texas is willing to eat salary to improve its prospect haul.

This just in as I am finishing… The Red Sox are acquiring catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. Teams need only four starters in the playoffs. With Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Eric Lauer, Emmet Sheehan, and Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers have a plethora of starting pitching choices.
  2. Anatomy of the deal: Hope was acquired in a trade from the Cubs for first baseman Michael Busch and pitcher Yency Almonte when the Dodgers were trying to clear space from their 40-man roster. River Ryan came in a trade from San Diego for Matt Beatty. Brady Smith was the Dodgers’ third-round pick in 2023.
  3. Friday was the fifth anniversary of the Mets acquiring two-time All-Star infielder Javier Báez, RHP Trevor Williams and cash considerations from the Cubs in exchange for minor league outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Who doe we think won that trade?

Apropos of Nothing

Gausman reminds me a lot of the acquisition of Cole Hamels a few years back. I think he will do well in Chicago especially as the summer weather cools. I also hope the Cubs can resign him after the season.

Son of Apropos

I rarely swim outside my lane when providing content for Cubs Insider. That said, I may write a non-Rundown column if the Cubs make some impactful trades later today. I know you all love when I express my opinions (wink, wink, smile).

Extra Innings

Peterson has been much better than advertised and he only cost the Cubs Cole Mathis.

They Said It

  • “It’s kind of [a] risk for the organization in terms of the future and now. Players don’t like talking about the future. Fans don’t like talking about the future. But [Jed] has a responsibility for the future. I think that’s one of the hardest parts about that job.” – Craig Counsell
  • “Sometimes, guys need a change. And I think David [Peterson] was in that position a little bit. And I think our guys did a good job of just like, ‘Let’s see what we’ve got here,’ which I think is the best way to approach players. And then we just kind of slowly chipped away at the things that we believe to be important.” – Counsell

Monday Walk-Up Song

Always fun to look back in five years to see who got ripped off at the trade deadline and how badly.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 3, 2026
Cubs Insider © Copyright 2026, All Rights Reserved