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

[Post Count Padder]

Again I am very happy with who we acquired but quite miffed about what we gave up. I'd feel a little better if Holmes is extended. 

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I didn't get a direct 1:1 on Mo or Ayers. But I can tell you this: the Cubs weren't going to trade Owen Ayers today and not also get another young C from somewhere else. So this is an assumption but one I think is an easy one to make: if the Cubs were that high on Mo right now, they probably don't require another young C to deal Ayers, because they would have already had one. 

I'm convinced that both the Cubs adore Owen Ayers and that the Cubs had soured on Ballesteros defensively.

Outdated now, but in April this guy with Lance who watched him in the AFL said Ayers has a sub-1.85 pop-time and the Cubs love his framing, but was clunky receiving in the AFL.

Do you know what the Cubs or anyone else thinks of his receiving abilities?

 

 

[Jason Ross]

7 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Outdated now, but in April this guy with Lance who watched him in the AFL said Ayers has a sub-1.85 pop-time and the Cubs love his framing, but was clunky receiving in the AFL.

Do you know what the Cubs or anyone else thinks of his receiving abilities?

 

 

From Greg Huss who had him 3rd ranked:

Quote

Over the years, there have been plenty of pop-up prospects. Guys who are a flash in the pan, give us crazy levels of excitement in short bursts of time, and ultimately fizzle out. They are often prospects that never truly give you the confidence to rank them top 10 in the system. Ayers feels different. The former 19th round pick shows legitimate power with plus exit velocities and has strong defensive abilities, led by a cannon strapped to his right shoulder. Now in Triple-A, I’m looking forward to seeing the Statcast-style metrics begin to normalize in a few weeks so we can have a better idea of his contact rates and, in turn, decide on what his future in Chicago might be. That might happen in 2026 but at the very least, he’s in competition for a role in the bigs next year since Carson Kelly hits free agency this offseason.

I hadn't heard anything myself on the receiving, but Huss is clued in. I would assume he's not guessing here. Receiving is probably his weakest from a logical stand point as he's not a natural catcher; He really only moved to a full-time catcher his senior year at Marshall and that's a lot of feel. 

[Bertz]

The rub with Ayers is age.  If he was exactly the same in every way but 23 he's a top 10 global prospect.  Those two years matter though.  A lot.  How much exactly is the question.  I suspect to open the year at SB the answer was "it's nearly disqualifying" but now that he's at Iowa and still producing it's closer to a yellow flag than a red one.

[Stratos]

14 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

From Greg Huss who had him 3rd ranked:

I hadn't heard anything myself on the receiving, but Huss is clued in. I would assume he's not guessing here. Receiving is probably his weakest from a logical stand point as he's not a natural catcher; He really only moved to a full-time catcher his senior year at Marshall and that's a lot of feel. 

Thanks.

BR shows he was catching before he switched to full-time so at least he's wasn't new to the position.  Probably grew up catching, at least partially.

Edited 6 hours ago by Stratos

[Stratos]

10 minutes ago, Bertz said:

The rub with Ayers is age.  If he was exactly the same in every way but 23 he's a top 10 global prospect.  Those two years matter though.  A lot.  How much exactly is the question.  I suspect to open the year at SB the answer was "it's nearly disqualifying" but now that he's at Iowa and still producing it's closer to a yellow flag than a red one.

Yeah.  It's just all-around odd he was in state junior college for some years before Marshall.  A true late bloomer.