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

[sneakypower]

17 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

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

Harrison, Vaughn , Priester, Bauer etc. trades all seemed pretty meh at the time so we probably gotta hold our breath a little bit to see what they really turn these guys into

[mul21]

-Alcantara: Feels like they hung onto him as a contingency plan for the offseason should things go sideways and they can't bring back Seiya.  Probably a good fall back option all things considered.

-Kepley: It's been mentioned already, but if we have doubts about him, you have to think other FOs do as well and maybe nobody was interested in spite of holding him back until the deadline

-Rojas: Based on what Jason is saying, maybe giving him up for Holmes and Taylor wasn't an overpay? Seems like our FO and others saw him less favorably with a likely move off SS to 3B.

-2027 Rotation: Cabrera, Steele, Brown, and Garrett feels like a solid base with Assad, Wicks, Wiggins, and Birdsell as viable options in addition to whatever they add via FA or Trade.  And maybe they get lucky and Holmes exercises his player option.

Overall, I can't gripe about any of the moves made individually or as a whole.  They got arms for the playoffs this year, added a guy with promise for next year, added velocity to the pen for the next 4 years and didn't give up any prospects who they were relying on to contribute next year or even in 2028 probably.

[Wilson A2000]

A lot of trade day rankings have the Cubs as the biggest winners. Great to hear.

[Outshined_One]

3 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Get guy before the TDL so you don’t need them again next year.

That was Cabrera this past offseason, and the results have been decidedly muddled so far.

Detmers should be available this offseason if the Cubs want to take another go at him.

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, mul21 said:

-Alcantara: Feels like they hung onto him as a contingency plan for the offseason should things go sideways and they can't bring back Seiya.  Probably a good fall back option all things considered.

-Kepley: It's been mentioned already, but if we have doubts about him, you have to think other FOs do as well and maybe nobody was interested in spite of holding him back until the deadline

-Rojas: Based on what Jason is saying, maybe giving him up for Holmes and Taylor wasn't an overpay? Seems like our FO and others saw him less favorably with a likely move off SS to 3B.

-2027 Rotation: Cabrera, Steele, Brown, and Garrett feels like a solid base with Assad, Wicks, Wiggins, and Birdsell as viable options in addition to whatever they add via FA or Trade.  And maybe they get lucky and Holmes exercises his player option.

Overall, I can't gripe about any of the moves made individually or as a whole.  They got arms for the playoffs this year, added a guy with promise for next year, added velocity to the pen for the next 4 years and didn't give up any prospects who they were relying on to contribute next year or even in 2028 probably.

If they offer Boyd a QO he might take it. So he might be in the rotation as well. 

[I owned a Suzuki]

4 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

If they offer Boyd a QO he might take it. So he might be in the rotation as well. 

At this point, Boyd seems like an easy QO decision. The real decision will be in his camp

[Outshined_One]

I mentioned this elsewhere, but a low key benefit of this deadline is it cleared a path for a lot of guys throughout the farm system.  Kepley was just promoted to AA, but it also opened the way for the Fernando Cruzes of the world to be promoted and see regular time to finish out the season.

[I owned a Suzuki]

Another low key upgrade from last year is the bench. Conforto, Taylor, Amaya and Ramirez/Shaw is a very solid bench. Also, a bench Counsell will use

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Along with this there were still people who were suggesting they would be underwhelmed by Jed’s TDL moves because he wouldn’t do much. And then after getting arguably the 2nd and 3rd best rental arms, a highly sought after pen arm with a lot of control left, a right handed platoon partner for Happ, and a possible controllable pitcher for the rotation the next few years, are still claiming to be right that Jed would underwhelm us. For some people no matter what Jed does will be wrong. 

Between the Counsell hiring, Tucker trade, Bregman signing, and this deadline i don't think the "Jed isn't aggressive" argument holds much water anymore. He may just not do every move we want or win every bid, or the timing doesn't line up.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

If they offer Boyd a QO he might take it. So he might be in the rotation as well. 

He didn't get QO from Guardians?

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, Stratos said:

He didn't get QO from Guardians?

Not that I know of. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

He was not eligible for a QO according to AI

[mk49]

4 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

He was not eligible for a QO according to AI

If AI is right, that would suck.

[mk49]

So, only controllable SP's traded were Soriano and Castillo?  

[We Got The Whole 9]

5 minutes ago, mk49 said:

If AI is right, that would suck.

What I should have specified is that he wasnt eligible for one from Cleveland.

 

"The 2024 Exception: Prior to signing with the Chicago Cubs, Boyd did not join the Cleveland Guardians until June 2024. Because he was not on their roster for the full season, MLB rules automatically categorized him as ineligible for a QO during that offseason.'

 

But I think he is eligible this year because he has never received one and he was on the team-in-question for the entire year prior.

[jumbo]

1 hour ago, mul21 said:

 

-2027 Rotation: Cabrera, Steele, Brown, and Garrett feels like a solid base with Assad, Wicks, Wiggins, and Birdsell as viable options in addition to whatever they add via FA or Trade.  And maybe they get lucky and Holmes exercises his player option.

Horton will be back when?? Does anyone know?  

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

3 minutes ago, jumbo said:

Horton will be back when?? Does anyone know?  

Best case scenario, which we all know isn't likely, is probably July

Edited 1 hour ago by Tangled Up in Plaid

[Rcal10]

15 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

What I should have specified is that he wasnt eligible for one from Cleveland.

 

"The 2024 Exception: Prior to signing with the Chicago Cubs, Boyd did not join the Cleveland Guardians until June 2024. Because he was not on their roster for the full season, MLB rules automatically categorized him as ineligible for a QO during that offseason.'

 

But I think he is eligible this year because he has never received one and he was on the team-in-question for the entire year prior.

Ok, I thought he was eligible. I would guess they offer it and wouldn’t be surprised if he took it. Which I am fine with. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

8 minutes ago, jumbo said:

Horton will be back when?? Does anyone know?  

To me it feels like the team is not expecting much before August. 

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Ok, I thought he was eligible. I would guess they offer it and wouldn’t be surprised if he took it. Which I am fine with. 

Cubs probably get at least a couple compensation picks next year. Season ends today you definitely throw a QO at Boyd and Seiya. I'm leaning no towards Happ. They can't give one to Shota. Kelly would almost definitely accept and that's way too much money for him. A nice little boost in the draft pool.

[Geographyhater8888]

1 hour ago, I owned a Suzuki said:

Another low key upgrade from last year is the bench. Conforto, Taylor, Amaya and Ramirez/Shaw is a very solid bench. Also, a bench Counsell will use

That, PCA, and the third base position. As underwhelming as Bregman has been, he’s on pace for over 3 fWAR. In 2025 Cubs third baseman combined for .4 fWAR. 

[ILMindState]

Qualifying offers and comp picks might not be a thing of the future or will be drastically different. 

[Rcal10]

33 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Cubs probably get at least a couple compensation picks next year. Season ends today you definitely throw a QO at Boyd and Seiya. I'm leaning no towards Happ. They can't give one to Shota. Kelly would almost definitely accept and that's way too much money for him. A nice little boost in the draft pool.

I think they will absolutely offer Happ a QO as well. And he will probably decline. 

[Stratos]

3 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

So 2 years in a row the cost was too high. So that should tell Jed not to expect to add controllable pitching at the deadline. Get guy before the TDL so you don’t need them again next year. 

Yeah exactly.  Jed said when they made the Cabrera trade that they tried to get him at last years deadline but the price was too high, and it came down in the offseason.

[mul21]

44 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

Qualifying offers and comp picks might not be a thing of the future or will be drastically different. 

As long as they're offered before the current CBA expires, they'll be in effect for this offseason.