Sources: Pedro Ramírez Becoming Focal Point in Chicago Cubs Trade Talks

As the Chicago Cubs have talked with other teams about their top targets ahead of next week's MLB trade deadline, one name has come up a lot more often than the team or its fans would prefer: Pedro Ramírez. The rookie infielder has been impressive in a small amount of playing time since coming up for the first time two months ago, and his combination of solid athleticism, youth, team control and a plus left-handed bat has led many of the clubs with whom the Cubs hope to deal to ask about his availability.

In theory, it makes sense for Chicago to give up Ramírez in the right deal. Though he's only 22 years old and is batting .295/.341/.449 in 86 big-league plate appearances, he has no apparent path to regular playing time on the North Side. Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman are locked into the positions where Ramírez profiles as a solid defender for the next half-decade, and his bat would be stretched a bit as an everyday corner outfielder. The utility role he's filled since roughly Memorial Day is the only one he's likely to fit neatly into at any point with the Cubs.

Lately, though, he's often been the designated hitter for the team when they face right-handed starting pitchers. His left-handed swing is impressively quick and produces well-struck line drives to all fields. He provides depth and length in the lineup, plus a modicum of versatility on defense. Weakening the bench is the last thing contending teams want to do ahead of the trade deadline.

Unfortunately for Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins, they might not have a choice. As they've scoured the market for the right deal to bolster their injury-ravaged pitching staff, the Cubs have heard Ramírez's name a lot, according to sources familiar with their conversations. The team is jealously guarding breakout top prospect Josiah Hartshorn, treating him as almost untouchable. Beyond Hartshorn, there's no one else other teams view as more desirable in the team's weak farm system than Ramírez.

A few months ago, that Ramírez might be such a gem would have been almost unthinkable. His ceiling just isn't that high, for such a young player already showing well in the majors. However, his bat (at least from the left side) has passed its first tests against big-league pitching, which goes a long way. Meanwhile, Jefferson Rojas has started playing third base almost exclusively at Double-A Knoxville, and scouts with other clubs view the 21-year-old as likely to stay at that spot. Rojas's bat has been almost as inconsistent this year as it was in 2025, worrying those who already had questions about his hit tool.

Jaxon Wiggins dealt with arm trouble earlier this year and has had a rocky return to Triple-A Iowa. His fastball still has exciting rising action, but it's not climbing toward 100 MPH the way it used to, even in abbreviated outings. He's also not throwing strikes. This spring, the Cubs held out hope that he would make a major contribution at the highest level this year. Now, he doesn't even have as much trade value as they'd like. 

Meanwhile, Matt Shaw remains sidelined with a wrist issue and is "weeks" away from resuming swinging. He'll be almost impossible to trade in the next eight days. The Cubs' pipeline hasn't been robust enough at any point in the last decade, and it's not recovering as fast as the team hoped when they reorganized their scouting and player development departments a few years ago. They don't particularly want to give up Moisés Ballesteros, but nor are prospective trade partners especially excited about him, according to a league source. Kevin Alcántara looks like he'll follow in the footsteps of fellow toolsy outfielders Alexander Canario and Nelson Velázquez, in that he'll probably leave the organization for a disappointing return, but probably not make anyone miss him much; his hit tool has turned out to be insufficient to sustain his prospect hype. 

That's not to suggest that the cupboard is entirely bare. The Cubs are willing and eager to trade from the lowest rungs of their system, where they have a handful of up-arrow guys. Upper-level catchers Owen Ayers and Ariel Armas each have admirers in other teams' front offices. They're in a tough spot, though, because they lack the depth to make any meaningful trade without feeling the loss deeply.

The last time the team was in this particular position, they made a trade most fans regret, rather than celebrating—though it accomplished at least some of what the team hoped. In July 2017, the Cubs traded Jeimer Candelario to the Detroit Tigers, after he'd played just a fistful of games for them over the previous year. That deal patched their glaring hole at backup catcher, as they acquired Alex Avila, but it was primarily about solidifying their bullpen with controllable lefty Justin Wilson. Avila was just a rental role player, but he panned out as well as Wilson did. Candelario became a solid player in Detroit, but the deal also required Chicago to throw in another infielder, a bit further from ready: Isaac Paredes.

Moving Ramírez might necessitate going out and finding a lesser Ramírez, eating into the benefit of trading him for a useful pitcher. Without including either Hartshorn or Ramírez, though, the team won't have access to the kind of help fans crave at this deadline. Ramírez is the one the Cubs would rather deal, if it comes to that—and it might. Of course, they also might opt to protect the future and buy low on someone with more uncertainty but a lower price tag. They could try to swing a better version of that Tigers deal from nine years ago, swapping Ramírez and a player far from the majors (like pitching prospect Kaleb Wing, for instance) for a controllable arm and a utility man with less club control and a higher salary than Ramírez.

The risks of that type of move are extremely salient to Hoyer, though, and whereas the 2017 Cubs were trying to sew up a division title, this year's group is playing for Wild Card position. The Cubs keep shopping for starters and for relievers, but to find one who makes a material difference in their hopes for a long run this October, they might have to give up one of the few young position players who have shown the ability to buffer them against injuries and underperformance this year. It's not clear whether they'll find that risk worthwhile, given the limitations of the club and the need to regain some balance between youth and experience.

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