Cubs’ Hoyer says no to offers with his top perspectives

While the Cubs did not do large transactions before Thursday’s deadline, their lack of activity leaves the possibility of a larger open before the end of the year.

In order to acquire a bat such as Eugenio Suarez or an arm such as Mason Miller, Cubs, general manager Jed Hoyer, Dylan Cease of Joe Ryan, Cubs, one of the best outfield prospects of the organization, Owen Caissie or Kevin Alcantara should have separated. But their entry salaries will be very useful if they find a way to prevent Kyle Tucker from leaving through a free desk.

It seems like a long chance for Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and Hoyer to put together a contract extension that Tucker loves the free agent market. But a way to create wage flexibility to allow a 10-year contract of $ 500 million to be the usual rate for an elite hitter in its prime-zou to exchange Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki in low season, causing $ 18 million in salary. Caissie of Alcantara are positioned as potential long -term replacements.

Although some fans certainly hoped that Hoyer would invest prospect capital to land large pieces on the trade market, he concentrated instead on adding depth strips to the schedule that is on pace to win 94 races. In the midst of MLB’s flurry of activity before the deadline, the Cubs got away with starting pitcher Mike Soroka, Relievers Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge and Utility Man Willi Castro.

The asking price for starting the front line was extremely high. Both Staken and Ryan thought in rumors, but neither were traded. The same applied to Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera from the Marlins.

The contract extension that Hoyer received from Ricketts last week must have made it easier for him to hold on to the long -term approach he has had since replacing Theo Epstein as president of the baseball activities of the team.

On Thursday, Hoyer made one cover against the current selection and added the Schakel-Hitting Castro from Minnesota for right-handed Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong. The 22-year-old Gallagher went to Double-A in his first full pro-season and was number 8 of the prospects of the organization by MLB Pipeline.

Castro, an All-Star from 2024, has produced a .743 OPS this season in 344 record performances. He mainly played outfield and the second base for the twins, but has played enough third base to be seen as a veteran supplement to Rookie Matt Shaw.

Rogers, a 34-year-old Lefty, threw good in 40 performances for Cincinnati (2.45 ERA in 40 games) this season. The Pirates acquired him from the Reds in the Ke’bryan Hayes trade in Wednesday, but spun him to the Cubs on Thursday and received outfielder Ivan Brethowr in exchange. A seventh round pick in 2024, he projects as a power hitter, but is far away from the Majors.

Hoyer has done a few transactions on Wednesday that are more likely to have incremental improvement than a major impact. The best part of the Deals for World Court (National) and Kittredge (Orioles) is that the Cubs did not have to give up known raw materials to get them.

That said, the Nationals seemed to be doing well to get the 18-year-old Shortstop Ronny Cruz and the 25-year-old outfielder Christian Franklin for Soroka, who was 0-10 a year ago for the 121 game that lost White Sox and currently has a 4,87 ERA in 16 starts. The Cubs were desperate to add rotation arms with Justin Steele, Jameson Tallon and Javier Assad on the injured list and Ben Brown needed a reboot.

Soroka has improved this year due to an improved use of his slurve, which he has thrown 35 percent of the time and holds Hitters to a stroke average of .124. He started his career under pressure (13.4, 2.68 with Atlanta in 2019), his first full season. He is almost not the same since missing from 2021 and ’22 with a torn-torn-turd-Achilles-tendon, but perhaps he will respond to pitching in large competitions in August and September.

While Franklin Leek-Hij is a high-storey player, but is stuck in a positional disadvantage-is Cruz the kind of lottery ticket that Hoyer could make with this trade. He was a third round pick in 2024 after moving from the Dominican Republic to Miami during high school. MLB Pipeline ranked him 13th under the prospects of the Cubs.

Both Kittredge and Soroka play on annual contracts, so they are strictly rental. Kittredge, known for a bad, swing-and-miss slider, probably seems to play an important role in a bull pen from a cubs that has not had much stability under the poor with high leverage. He produced an elite pursuit speed (41.7) while walking only 6.3 percent of the batters with the Orioles.

Kittredge comes from a strong season 2024 in St. Louis. He compiled a 2.80 ERA in 74 performances and delivered 1.6 war. He was worth 2,4 war for Tampa Bay in 2021 and earned an All-Star spot. Kittredge joins Brad Keller and Lefties Caleb Thielbar and Rogers who work closer to Daniel Palencia for Neophyte.

The cubs were positioned to get more immediate help than they do. But you can understand why Hoyer did not want to separate with cheap batters such as Caiss, Alcantara and Future DH Moises Ballesteros if he still hopes to win with Tucker in 2026 and then.