Cubs 2025 Trade Deadline Thread

[Rcal10]

Jed left the Cubs a solid starter short. There is no way around that. He should have done a better job knowing the cost and accepting it. I am fine with the pen arms and happy with Castro. Had he even gotten Kelly, I would have considered the deadline a good one. Now we have to hope guys last the season and even then, when the playoffs do start, most likely our pitcher will not be the same level as the guy we face. Doesn’t mean they can’t pitch well. Doesn’t mean the Cubs can’t win. But it would feel better if going in we at least had one more quality starter.

[squally1313]

Worth noting that the Model Franchise up in Milwaukee did nothing to improve their offense, picked up Shelby Miller who has been decent in relief and whatever is going on with Jordan Montgomery/Jordan Montgomery's Contract, and shipped out Nestor Cortes, who has been hurt all year but has made three starts at AAA and seems ready to go. So they certainly didn't improve much (or didn't improve as much as we did).

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Worth noting that the Model Franchise up in Milwaukee did nothing to improve their offense, picked up Shelby Miller who has been decent in relief and whatever is going on with Jordan Montgomery/Jordan Montgomery's Contract, and shipped out Nestor Cortes, who has been hurt all year but has made three starts at AAA and seems ready to go. So they certainly didn't improve much (or didn't improve as much as we did).

When you trade for prime Miguel Cabrera and Greg Maddux you don't need to make any more significant moves.

[cubfansince77]

5 hours ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Caissie should be playing LF next year.  Happ should be the guy that gets moved, one way or the other.  I'm sure he'd wave that no trade clause to go to a contender like the Yankees 

I don't disagree with you PP33 but your statement isn't really based in reality. Ian isn't having a good year and his trade value won't be very high UNLESS he takes off from here and really produces the rest of the season.

[squally1313]

I know gflore was mostly being sarcastic in his above comment, but I will take Ian Happ over Andrew Vaughn in offensive production for the rest of the year (which excludes the fact that Andrew Vaughn is a horrid defender). 

[17 Seconds]

36 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Worth noting that the Model Franchise up in Milwaukee did nothing to improve their offense, picked up Shelby Miller who has been decent in relief and whatever is going on with Jordan Montgomery/Jordan Montgomery's Contract, and shipped out Nestor Cortes, who has been hurt all year but has made three starts at AAA and seems ready to go. So they certainly didn't improve much (or didn't improve as much as we did).

shelby miller has been way more than decent

[Tryptamine]

1 minute ago, 17 Seconds said:

shelby miller has been way more than decent

Better than any single person we got.

[Rcal10]

13 minutes ago, cubfansince77 said:

I don't disagree with you PP33 but your statement isn't really based in reality. Ian isn't having a good year and his trade value won't be very high UNLESS he takes off from here and really produces the rest of the season.

And then when that happens people won’t want to trade him. This is a yearly Happ discussion. For as long as he has been a Cub this happens. 

[mul21]

The more I stew on it, the less mad I am at Jed and the more mad I am at ownership. Jed hung onto the prospects because he knows he’s not going to have the cash available to re-sign Tucker and at the end of the day, he’s going the route that will sustain some level of success and trading those guys now leaves a huge vacuum in the OF next year and beyond.

[Manny Trillos Brother]

Miller is a 34 year old with a 3.65 xFIP who has been the beneficiary of really good HR luck. If he was the Cubs' top pickup, the posters here would be screaming about how we gave up too much.

FWIW...ZIPS likes our deadline better than Mil. The Cubs were the 2nd biggest jump in "% Chance to Win the Division".

[squally1313]

Just now, mul21 said:

The more I stew on it, the less mad I am at Jed and the more mad I am at ownership. Jed hung onto the prospects because he knows he’s not going to have the cash available to re-sign Tucker and at the end of the day, he’s going the route that will sustain some level of success and trading those guys now leaves a huge vacuum in the OF next year and beyond.

We'll never know what those internal conversations are. If Jed knew that he was never going to have the cash available to resign Tucker, trading Smith and Paredes for one year of him doesn't align at all how he's approached the rest of the roster building. I don't want to (ever) absolve Ricketts of anything, but in my current frustration am not willing to take the blame off of Jed. Ricketts has been on record saying that he wants to be right around/under the first tax line. Cots has them at $15m under after all the dry powder talk. He could certainly be lying to us, sure. But it's that budget/lemonade stand scene from the office....spend the money that you're given.

In terms of the outfield, I don't think it's that dire, mainly because PCA makes things way easier. Happ and Suzuki are still here next year, Suzuki looks lost currently but we're like two weeks removed from being outraged he wasn't an all star, and he's played enough outfield where you'd be able to bear sending him back out there next year. The odds of trading both Alcantara and Caissie were always very low, so with one of those and PCA/Happ/Suzuki you're set for next year, and stressing about how to fill 1-2 corner outfield spots in 2027 is not a real problem. 

[mul21]

6 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

We'll never know what those internal conversations are. If Jed knew that he was never going to have the cash available to resign Tucker, trading Smith and Paredes for one year of him doesn't align at all how he's approached the rest of the roster building. I don't want to (ever) absolve Ricketts of anything, but in my current frustration am not willing to take the blame off of Jed. Ricketts has been on record saying that he wants to be right around/under the first tax line. Cots has them at $15m under after all the dry powder talk. He could certainly be lying to us, sure. But it's that budget/lemonade stand scene from the office....spend the money that you're given.

In terms of the outfield, I don't think it's that dire, mainly because PCA makes things way easier. Happ and Suzuki are still here next year, Suzuki looks lost currently but we're like two weeks removed from being outraged he wasn't an all star, and he's played enough outfield where you'd be able to bear sending him back out there next year. The odds of trading both Alcantara and Caissie were always very low, so with one of those and PCA/Happ/Suzuki you're set for next year, and stressing about how to fill 1-2 corner outfield spots in 2027 is not a real problem. 

Shut your stupid piehole and let me be irrational.  Geez, can't have any fun around here anymore. 🤣😘

[Jason Ross]

6 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

We'll never know what those internal conversations are. If Jed knew that he was never going to have the cash available to resign Tucker, trading Smith and Paredes for one year of him doesn't align at all how he's approached the rest of the roster building. I don't want to (ever) absolve Ricketts of anything, but in my current frustration am not willing to take the blame off of Jed. Ricketts has been on record saying that he wants to be right around/under the first tax line. Cots has them at $15m under after all the dry powder talk. He could certainly be lying to us, sure. But it's that budget/lemonade stand scene from the office....spend the money that you're given.

In terms of the outfield, I don't think it's that dire, mainly because PCA makes things way easier. Happ and Suzuki are still here next year, Suzuki looks lost currently but we're like two weeks removed from being outraged he wasn't an all star, and he's played enough outfield where you'd be able to bear sending him back out there next year. The odds of trading both Alcantara and Caissie were always very low, so with one of those and PCA/Happ/Suzuki you're set for next year, and stressing about how to fill 1-2 corner outfield spots in 2027 is not a real problem. 

Just to add to the last point, the Cubs freshly drafted a college OF'er in the first round, a presumably quick moving college-OF'er in the 2nd round, and had their 2nd highest bonus to a prep-OF'er in the 6th round. It's almost inarguable that the Cubs spent the biggest assets of the 2025 draft class backfilling the OF stock. 

[17 Seconds]

17 minutes ago, Manny Trillos Brother said:

Miller is a 34 year old with a 3.65 xFIP who has been the beneficiary of really good HR luck. If he was the Cubs' top pickup, the posters here would be screaming about how we gave up too much.

FWIW...ZIPS likes our deadline better than Mil. The Cubs were the 2nd biggest jump in "% Chance to Win the Division".

They bought a good reliever with cash, nobody here would have complained it was too much

[KCCub]

Honestly, I hate that we're comparing our deadline to the Brewers right now (Yes, division foes, blah). They're always going to do the small market thing and make moves that improve their margins. Miller, Lockridge, Vaughn, etc. 

 

[ILMindState]

6 minutes ago, KCCub said:

Honestly, I hate that we're comparing our deadline to the Brewers right now (Yes, division foes, blah). They're always going to do the small market thing and make moves that improve their margins. Miller, Lockridge, Vaughn, etc. 

 

This team is like my Pitt bull that thinks he's a lap dog

[mul21]

4 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

This team is like my Pitt bull that thinks he's a lap dog

Uh, pitties are lap dogs. Don't you deny that good boy (or girl) their rightful place. 

[squally1313]

28 minutes ago, mul21 said:

Shut your stupid piehole and let me be irrational.  Geez, can't have any fun around here anymore. 🤣😘

Trust me, I liked it a lot better when I thought Jed was good at his job and Ricketts was the root of all the problems. 

And like...is Jed bad? To me, no. It's a 94 win team today with locked up, league minimum production, some of it elite, at CF, 1B, 3B, half of our catching platoon, and then Horton, Palencia, Steele, etc on the pitching side. The technical minor league system has taken a hit, but that's mostly because of the graduations. But, man, put the finishing touches on the team you spent (maybe too many) years putting together. The odds of Colin Rea starting a playoff game are not zero, and that should keep him up at night from now until then. 

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, squally1313 said:

I know gflore was mostly being sarcastic in his above comment, but I will take Ian Happ over Andrew Vaughn in offensive production for the rest of the year (which excludes the fact that Andrew Vaughn is a horrid defender). 

So would I, at the moment, it appears Vaughn productivity is limited to American Family Field (and some of Rate Field) - 

[Manny Trillos Brother]

Just wait till you see that SLG # in Wrigley in a couple of weeks.

[Soul]

Vaughn is maddening.  He’s exactly the kind of player somehow the Brewers get what they need from, even though objectively he’s not good.  It’s like what do they know that no one else does?

Edited August 1, 2025 by Soul

[gflore34]

12 minutes ago, Manny Trillos Brother said:

Just wait till you see that SLG # in Wrigley in a couple of weeks.

Just out curiosity I took a glance at his data over the years he's at American Family Field, he loves hitting at that park.  Big numbers every year he's had games at AFF,in addition to needing someone at 1B this could be why the Brewers traded for him.  Willing to live with below average road production in exchange for mashing at home.

[squally1313]

19 minutes ago, Soul said:

Vaughn is maddening.  He’s exactly the kind of player somehow the Brewers get what they need from, even though objectively he’s not good.  It’s like what do they know that no one else does?

Maybe they have some hitting version of Hottovy over there? Feel like we'd be saying the same thing about Flexen and Pomeranz. 

Vaughn will turn back into what he's always been, a league average hitter who somehow manages to be a uniquely bad defensive first baseman. And the Brewers can't hide him at DH because Yelich is basically unplayable defensively at this point (12 games out there total). He's got 309 games, 1260 PAs at first base since 2023. In all that time he's put up 0.2 fWAR. He sucks, he'll go back to sucking, it's fine. 

[Thusly Boned]

1 hour ago, Manny Trillos Brother said:

Miller is a 34 year old with a 3.65 xFIP who has been the beneficiary of really good HR luck. If he was the Cubs' top pickup, the posters here would be screaming about how we gave up too much.

FWIW...ZIPS likes our deadline better than Mil. The Cubs were the 2nd biggest jump in "% Chance to Win the Division".

Not only that, but he's on the IL with the always ominous "forearm strain". 

The Cubs TDL was very disappointing, but there's no way the Brewers' was any better.  And like the Cubs, they didn't fill their biggest need.

[KCCub]

Jed, I know you're reading this thread. This is me once again reminding you that upper end controlled SP, either at the TDL or in the winter, is extremely expensive in terms of prospect capital. As in, we should not be surprised at the unreasonable ask that's going to happen this upcoming winter and next TDL. Let's say if we don't sign Tucker, lets go ahead and direct those funds towards a Valdez/Suarez/Cease/King/etc. And next TDL (barring major injuries), maybe all we need is a few bats (Cheap at the deadline) and BP help.