Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at the start of June that pitching was likely to be the team’s focus as they get closer to the August 3 trade deadline. That remains the case even as the offense has struggled this month, as they’re among a number of teams whose pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries.
“The conversations are certainly happening. You talk to teams about pitching. Usually, at this time of year, (talks) are still on the smaller side of those transactions,” Hoyer told The Mully & Haugh Show on 104.3 The Score on Tuesday morning. He pointed to the crowded playoff picture in both leagues leaving most teams still straddling the buyer/seller line this far out — a common refrain for front office personnel around the league.
“The major moves and significant transactions that people would talk about are much more likely to happen post All-Star Break or even closer to the deadline,” he noted. Hoyer added that the front office is looking for seemingly smaller ways to augment the pitching staff in the short term, using last year’s seemingly minor trade for Drew Pomeranz as one such example.
Those comments came before the Cubs lost Edward Cabrera to a hamstring strain this evening. He’ll join Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon on the shelf. Taillon will be down beyond the All-Star Break with a moderate hamstring strain, while Horton is done for the season after April’s Tommy John surgery. Steele hasn’t pitched since April 2025, as he suffered a flexor strain while rehabbing from his own elbow procedure.
While the Cubs are still holding out hope that Steele will be a factor this year, that’s not going to be out of the rotation. “Whether or not he can help us at the end of the season is unclear,” Hoyer told The Score when asked about the southpaw’s likelihood of contributing. “I think it’s unrealistic to think he’s going to be fully stretched out at any point, so if he does help us, I think it’s going to be in shorter bursts. … Expecting starts this year is unrealistic.”
The long-term hope is that Steele can return to the All-Star form he showed from 2023-24. It seems the ideal outcome for this season is that he can factor out of the bullpen and at least go into next offseason with a clean bill of health. Chicago already has a trio of left-handers in relief with Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison. They’re reasonably well positioned in that regard but would surely welcome whatever contributions they can get from Steele if his arm holds up.
Chicago will get Matthew Boyd back from meniscus surgery to swap into Cabrera’s rotation spot in the short term. There’s not enough high-end starting pitching talent, as one would expect with arguably the team’s three most talented arms on the shelf.
Ben Brown has been the team’s best starter since drawing into the rotation when Boyd went down in early May. Shota Imanaga has struggled lately as his home run issues have resurfaced. Colin Rea and Javier Assad are swing types pressed into back-end rotation roles, while Jordan Wicks is the only healthy depth starter on the 40-man roster. Jaxon Wiggins, their most talented minor league arm, is working back from injury and has pitched a total of 12 2/3 innings this year.
As Hoyer mentioned, it’s unlikely any marquee starters will change teams within the next three to four weeks. Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Casey Mize, Sonny Gray, Foster Griffin, Dustin May and Trevor Rogers are among impending free agents who could be on the move at the deadline. The Tigers, Mets, Red Sox and Orioles all entered the season hoping to compete, however, and they’re unlikely to commit to selling this early. The Nationals and Cardinals are right there alongside the Cubs in a crowded NL Wild Card field.
The Rockies don’t have any notable starting pitchers to offer. The Angels could (and probably should) market controllable arms Reid Detmers and José Soriano, but that’s not how they’ve operated under owner Arte Moreno. The Twins have been surprisingly competitive, which could lead them to hold Joe Ryan.
Among teams who expected to contend, only the Giants seem to have already moved toward selling. They’re nevertheless maintaining they don’t want to move ace Logan Webb. Impending free agent Robbie Ray should already be available, but he’s playing on a $25MM salary and has concerning walk and home run rates.
