Now worried about trade deadline after comments by cubs GM

[Bradley7878]

I am a big cubs fan and have been following this team since 2018. I have closely this season been watching all the games and consistently keeping my eye on trade rumors on different sites. I saw this earlier and it kinda worried me tbh. I initially had the idea that cubs were going to be buyers but active and big buyers at that, especially with them saying no prospect is untouchable and they are going to go big. However, and maybe it’s just me, but this remark from Hawkins to me sounds like they are pretty satisfied with the team and may not be going as big as I thought. I hope I’m wrong because I do believe this team is special and can win it all BUT there are holes that need to be patched. What’s everyone else’s thoughts ?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Welcome to NSBB!

[Tryptamine]

Nah, that's just GM speak. He can't say, we badly need a top half of the rotation starting pitcher because if he isn't able to land one, he looks really stupid.

[Bradley7878]

10 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

Nah, that's just GM speak. He can't say, we badly need a top half of the rotation starting pitcher because if he isn't able to land one, he looks really stupid.

Ahhh ok I see that makes complete sense. Do you think they do go and be aggressive at deadline though? 

[Bradley7878]

13 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Welcome to NSBB!

Thank you! 

[Hot Sauce]

Welcome to the forum!

The Cubs will add rotation help. If they don't get a bat for 3B, I'm cool with it and think they can win in spite of Shaw's bat because there's enough pop up and down the whole lineup and they play good to exceptional defense at every position. 

[Rcal10]

6 hours ago, Hot Sauce said:

Welcome to the forum!

The Cubs will add rotation help. If they don't get a bat for 3B, I'm cool with it and think they can win in spite of Shaw's bat because there's enough pop up and down the whole lineup and they play good to exceptional defense at every position. 

Agree with you on how I see the deadline. Definitely a pitcher or two. Maybe a bat. But I don’t think it will be a Shaw replacement. Might be Shaw insurance, bench help. 

[Jason Ross]

8 hours ago, Bradley7878 said:

Ahhh ok I see that makes complete sense. Do you think they do go and be aggressive at deadline though? 

Yes, though what constitutes fan aggression and Jed aggression may be different. I'm sure fans will look at a Gallen/Suarez deal as very aggressive, especially based on name value, but there are other names that could better fit the roster and could also constitute an aggressive swing, it just might be less name-value wise. 

What I do think the Cubs will do is acquire at least one controlled player beyond 2025 and add one SP, likely one RP and one player capable of playing 3b (though suspect it will not be a Suarez starting type and more of a useful utility type capable of multi-position versatility). They might even add a second SP, but I think 3+ players will be headed to Chicago by the 31st.

The Cubs are a little heavy on Iowa prospects with no clear route to MLB positions and will have to move some of them to better utilize their assets. Those prospects are too good to just go for three rentals. But what we may see as unexiting at first may have a lot of great under hood qualities. Think how unexicitng Boyd's signing was in December and how excited we are to see him take a mound now. 

[Stratos]

On 7/19/2025 at 1:29 PM, Tryptamine said:

Nah, that's just GM speak. He can't say, we badly need a top half of the rotation starting pitcher because if he isn't able to land one, he looks really stupid.

Yeah.  It's  also bad negotiation tactics  to tell the world how desperate you are to acquire a SP etc

[Stratos]

9 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Agree with you on how I see the deadline. Definitely a pitcher or two. Maybe a bat. But I don’t think it will be a Shaw replacement. Might be Shaw insurance, bench help. 

If Shaw isn't hitting by the deadline I think you could see a trade for a 3B if it comes at a reasonable cost.  We're getting nothing out of the position and it's hurting the team.  We're dead last in the MLB in WAR out of 3B at -0.5 WAR.  Obviously SP is the priority for depth and the playoffs but it would make an impact to get a quality 3B too if Shaw is still sucking.

I'm not really worried about the deadline, Jed has done a fairly good job at other deadlines and hasn't overpaid.  He definitely puts a low value on relievers though, but thankfully our pen is in better shape than other years.