August 3, 2026 Trade Deadline Rumors/Gossip/Speculation Thread

[Radar3454]

Just now, JunkyardWalrus said:

Does this feel like enough to compete with Milwaukee and/or LA in a series to anyone?

Brewers you bet - no one is beating the Dodgers if they play well

[mul21]

Just now, JunkyardWalrus said:

Does this feel like enough to compete with Milwaukee and/or LA in a series to anyone?

Yeah, I think so.  It doesn't have the top end those teams do, but they both also have some offensive holes that the Cubs really don't especially with Taylor on board to take the RH ABs from Happ.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, Dfan25 said:

Would like to move Rea if possible 

At this point I don't care one way or the other. They're not getting much of anything back for Rea, so the depth might matter more than the lottery ticket. If they do move him? Fine by me, too.

[JBears79]

1 minute ago, JunkyardWalrus said:

Does this feel like enough to compete with Milwaukee and/or LA in a series to anyone?

It does with the Brewers. LA will always be a role of the dice.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Just now, JBears79 said:

It does with the Brewers. LA will always be a role of the dice.

Those dice are heavily weighted.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

4 walks in his last 16 innings

1 in his last 10

Something may have clicked.

Hopefully.  But i wouldn't make a trade based on a 1 month sample of BB/K either.  I think the cost may have been a bit too high.

[squally1313]

in an Injuries Don't Exist and Rehabs are Perfect World:

• SP1: Boyd
• SP2: Holmes
• SP3: Gausman
• SP4: Shota
• Multiple inning bullpen options, roughly listed in order of effectiveness: Brown, Steele, Cabrera, Assad, Peterson, Rea, Garrett
• Short relief bullpen options, roughly listed in order of effectiveness: Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn, Rolison, Harvey, Milner, Maton, Roberts

That's....a lot of names. Ask Rea if there's anywhere he wants to go, see if Assad can get you anything of value (preferably in that last bucket)...otherwise you're cutting some dudes in a few weeks (hopefully)

[Dfan25]

1 minute ago, Manny Trillos Brother said:

Thank goodness someone says this. We aren't going to care about Jefferson in 3 months and there will be another Jefferson to take his place. The farm system is there to supplement the big league team. Just let Jed cook.

I think it was a bad use of resources . Could have been used in a bigger deal later . I am happy they were active , but I think this trade was a bit much .

[Tryptamine]

So it looks like the Cubs escape the deadline and still have a pretty good top 10 in any combination of 

Hartshorn, Ayers, Conrad, Kepley, Wiggins, Wing, Townsend, Sorrell, Bailey and Caple.

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

in an Injuries Don't Exist and Rehabs are Perfect World:

• SP1: Boyd
• SP2: Holmes
• SP3: Gausman
• SP4: Shota
• Multiple inning bullpen options, roughly listed in order of effectiveness: Brown, Steele, Cabrera, Assad, Peterson, Rea, Garrett
• Short relief bullpen options, roughly listed in order of effectiveness: Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn, Rolison, Harvey, Milner, Maton, Roberts

That's....a lot of names. Ask Rea if there's anywhere he wants to go, see if Assad can get you anything of value (preferably in that last bucket)...otherwise you're cutting some dudes in a few weeks (hopefully)

Assad is cheap for a while and versatile, No way im moving him in our current situation. 

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, Stratos said:

Hopefully.  But i wouldn't make a trade based on a 1 month sample of BB/K either.  I think the cost may have been a bit too high.

I don't think they made the trade based on 16 IP.

But I do think today the Cubs told you Mo isn't a catcher. And if he's a DH, he's a DH who doesn't hit LHP well. The line on Mo was always "is he a catcher or a DH?" Behind the plate he's a great young player. As a DH it's a hard one to find a ton of value. So I think the value here matches.

[Brian707]

7 minutes ago, JunkyardWalrus said:

Does this feel like enough to compete with Milwaukee and/or LA in a series to anyone?

Milwaukee yes, LA no. But I would rather face the Doyers in a best of 5 rather than a best of 7. 

Lets see how it plays out, I think LA beats Milwaukee for the #1 seed

Edited 8 hours ago by Brian707

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

You have to be Yordan/Schwarber/Ohtani to have any good value as a DH only.

[squally1313]

If you would have told me that we acquired two playoff quality starters, a good bullpen guy, and an outfielder who could hit lefties, I would have been happy. 

If you would have told me that we gave up Rojas and Ballesteros and did not get ourselves a 2027 starting pitcher, I would have been angry. Ramirez and Shaw both still being a part of this team is also frustrating, but less so because the Shaw injury situation is clearly lingering. 

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, muntjack said:

 247 PAs in the majors.  For the first 135, he was one of the best hitters in the major leagues.  For the last 112, he struggled mightily.  He's a rookie that has shown flashes of being an elite hitter.  That is worth more than this return,  in my opinion.  

Yeah, a month of scuffling isn't huge.   Guys can adjust.  Swing decisions are rare to change though.  He got a wakeup call, let's see if he adjusts with the Angels.

[NorthsideAvenger]

1 minute ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Yeah this is kind of where I’m landing, is it a good value trade? No, almost certainly not. Would I rather have Detmers for Ayers/Kepley +? 100%. But boy am I glad that 60% of starts will no longer be going to Assad, Rea, and Peterson.

Pedro Ramirez emergence definitely lessens the sting of losing Rojas.

[Tryptamine]

Brewers add Senzatela who has been solid out of the pen this year. That brings their trade deadline total to 

SP; May

RP: Senzatela and Romero

Catcher: Naylor

A solid deadline, but I really feel like they should have done a lot more

[Outshined_One]

5 minutes ago, JBears79 said:

It does with the Brewers. LA will always be a role of the dice.

I know LA's rotation is killer, but that pen is beatable and their offense is currently sporting a Kyle Tucker-sized hole.  They'll be able to mix and match pitchers based on matchups in the playoffs, which should fix their pen issues (?), but I'm not ready to crown them de facto WS champs.

[mul21]

Just now, squally1313 said:

If you would have told me that we acquired two playoff quality starters, a good bullpen guy, and an outfielder who could hit lefties, I would have been happy. 

If you would have told me that we gave up Rojas and Ballesteros and did not get ourselves a 2027 starting pitcher, I would have been angry. Ramirez and Shaw both still being a part of this team is also frustrating, but less so because the Shaw injury situation is clearly lingering. 

I think you have to reserve some judgement until we see what happens with Garrett.  They got him for a couple guys who were entirely expendable and if they can get him healthy, he's probably going to be good.

[Papa Cub]

11 minutes ago, JunkyardWalrus said:

Does this feel like enough to compete with Milwaukee and/or LA in a series to anyone?

If our bats are consistent - yes, I believe they can compete with anyone. Their biggest concern was the depth and longevity of their pitching staff. I liked some moves, but not all - bottom line is Jed addressed immediate needs for the 2026 Cubs to make a run. Dodgers are on another level, but I believe they can compete against them for sure. 
Just have to get hot at the right time and put it all together. 

Edited 8 hours ago by Papa Cub

[squally1313]

Ballesteros was always a square peg and I like the trade because I didn't see a future for him here and it's a step away from 'let's sign 6 37 year old relievers every february'.

But everything that's being said about Owen Ayers right now in terms of how much he is/isn't valued was being said about Ballesteros a year ago (and 6 months ago). What trades did we pass on so that we could get 150 mediocre at bats and then trade him for a controlled reliever with a walk problem.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1 minute ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Pedro Ramirez emergence definitely lessens the sting of losing Rojas.

This is probably the main reason Jed was willing to do it.

[Geographyhater8888]

Bit of an overpay. But for once Jed didn’t half ass the trade deadline. Extract as much out of Suzuki and Happs last years here and you also have an aging infield. If Holmes goes to Milwaukee instead then you’re in even deeper horsefeathers. I don’t mind it, even if 2027 is still a question mark. 

Edited 8 hours ago by Geographyhater8888

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, mul21 said:

I think you have to reserve some judgement until we see what happens with Garrett.  They got him for a couple guys who were entirely expendable and if they can get him healthy, he's probably going to be good.

There's some Justin Steele in his game. I don't mean to say he's going to be Steele, but in his pitch shapes and what not, you can find similarities. I think he's a fun project.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Post Count Padder said:

I like Zeferjahn but that return kinda pisses me off. I like Mo a lot and still think he has a bright future. 

It's not like a reliever with lots of Ks and walks is super rare.  Heck we DFA'd Estrada when he lost his release point for just a season when normally it was ok.  A catcher who can hit like Mo is rare.