Cubs 2025 Trade Deadline Thread

[Stratos]

8 minutes ago, tartan222 said:

just watched this and the gist of what he said is that the cubs are trying to get more stuff done, but they're being reticent to pony up big prospects. it sounds like they still know pitching is a need and they're trying to address that, but they're not wanting to give up a top guy for a rental, so it's a question of whether one of the team control guys is attainable.

my read is - it's not like a trade for a big name is lined up and we're sorting out the details, but they're still pushing hard. probably won't pay the price necessary for a top rental arm, so it's either they land a gore/cabrera type or a cheaper rental option

In all honesty it would be pretty stupid to go cheap in the offseason and sign Rea and then pony up big prospects for 2 months of some SP.

[KCCub]

 

 

[Jason Ross]

"No reason to think they don't make a big move"

[JHBulls]

4 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

They'll probably come away with Merrill Kelly and call it a day

I can’t even crack a smile at the prospects of it, because first I need to know if his under-the-hood, over-the-bonnet, inside-the-chassis, above-the-barrel underlying numbers are fine. It would also be good to know if his 2025 FIP is better than his 2019 FIP and if his 2025 ERA+ is better than his college ERA+. Only then can I smile at a potential trade for Merrill Kelly. 

[tartan222]

double post. ignore me!

Edited July 31, 2025 by tartan222

[Brian707]

This thread is full of entertainment 

[tartan222]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

lol seems like we are at the 'bargaining' stage

this whole thing is the bargaining stage. and we're actually pretty close to the end

[Connor McConnor]

This is still less stressful than watching Pressly on the mound with men on base. 

[squally1313]

1 minute ago, JHBulls said:

I can’t even crack a smile at the prospects of it, because first I need to know if his under-the-hood, over-the-bonnet, inside-the-chassis, above-the-barrel underlying numbers are fine. It would also be good to know if his 2025 FIP is better than his 2019 FIP and if his 2025 ERA+ is better than his college ERA+. Only then can I smile at a potential trade for Merrill Kelly. 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

It’s hard to see where innings are going to come from if they don’t land a starter. Rea has been pretty bad since May 1, Horton and Boyd could be hitting walls soon. The fifth spot in the rotation is an adventure. I know Assad/Taillon are coming back, but there’s no way Jed doesn’t pull something off in the next 45 minutes. It’s too glaring a need. 

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

This is still less stressful than watching Pressly on the mound with men on base. 

Not for me. With Pressly I've already accepted what's coming.

[chibears55]

Hoyer gonna just shock us all with whatever he's cooking up, I mean it has to be a big deal hes getting done otherwise why wait til the final minutes to get an agreement on lesser players ?

Of course there could be no deals made 😒 

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

This thread is full of entertainment 

Jed is doing exactly what everyone feared/ expected him to do and they are just not ready to accept it. 

 

The Padres added a horsefeathers haul of help. I can't believe how much they got/are possibly still getting. 

[ILMindState]

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Hoyer gonna just shock us all with whatever he's cooking up, I mean it has to be a big deal hes getting done otherwise why wait til the final minutes to get an agreement on lesser players ?

Of course there could be no deals made 😒 

This is basically where I'm at. Either we're all going to be going crazy for happy reasons in about an hour or we're going to be crazy for very unhappy reasons in an hour, I think the middle ground is probably gone.

[JD94]

Jed might trade for Paul Skenes in 5 minutes and make me look dumb, but he’s an extremely safe GM. Not shocked he’s waiting until the last possible second to make the best deal possible. He’s not going to go outside of his comfort zone. I still think the only reason he made the Tucker trade is because he HAD to put a winning product on the field this year. 

[mul21]

1 minute ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

It’s hard to see where innings are going to come from if they don’t land a starter. Rea has been pretty bad since May 1, Horton and Boyd could be hitting walls soon. The fifth spot in the rotation is an adventure. I know Assad/Taillon are coming back, but there’s no way Jed doesn’t pull something off in the next 45 minutes. It’s too glaring a need. 

This.  He may not be the best executive in the game, but he's extremely competent.  He knows this is a very good team that doesn't have enough gas in the tank to get to the finish line as is.  He'll make a move or two and while we may not love the results, I have a feeling it'll be at minimum adequate to shore up the obvious deficiencies.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Just now, Tryptamine said:

This is basically where I'm at. Either we're all going to be going crazy for happy reasons in about an hour or we're going to be crazy for very unhappy reasons in an hour, I think the middle ground is probably gone.

If you think the middle ground is off the table you're basically admitting you were never gonna be able to see the middle ground as a possibility.

[Stratos]

7 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

You are way more confident than I am. I was earlier, but not so much any longer. I still think Cabrera is the most likely controlled pitcher.

Jed doesn't typically make deadline deals at the very last minute.  Bryant was the only exception i can think of, but based on that return he was probably desperate and couldn't get any better deal done.

[tartan222]

Just now, Transmogrified Tiger said:

If you think the middle ground is off the table you're basically admitting you were never gonna be able to see the middle ground as a possibility.

idk, i think both of you have a point and the reality is probably somewhere...in between

[Tryptamine]

10 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

If you think the middle ground is off the table you're basically admitting you were never gonna be able to see the middle ground as a possibility.

I'm saying that while it's still possible he walks away with the middle ground, which would be like Kelly+Castro, I think something like that is increasingly unlikely and it's turned toward hitting a homerun on the major targets or pivoted to guys most of us are going to see as very minimal upgrades if at all. I might be wrong, but that's the impression I'm getting from how things are going.

[Michael Busch Light]

I feel bad for Brett Taylor doing his blogothan thing with Soroka being the big move 

[Jason Ross]

I'll say this, even though my anxiety is building over what may not happen, if the Cubs were going to make a swing...it was probably going to be a late one with the waters they were in. So being logical, this was probably always how today would go. 

[UMFan83]

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

That's fine, then pivot to Kelly and Castro and be done with it.