The top of the starting pitching market didn’t kick into gear until a little over a half an hour before the 5 p.m. CT deadline, with the Rangers acquiring right-hander Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks.
Then deals fell into place in rapid succession. And the Cubs dropped out of the race for a frontline starter, which has been their most obvious need since left-hander Justin Steele underwent season-ending elbow surgery in April.
“From a starting pitching standpoint, it was a really tight market,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “Very few rental starters, effectively no starters that had one year of control after this; and then of the marquee control starters, none of those guys changed hands. Obviously we didn’t acquire them, and no one else did either. The asking price, we felt like, was something that we couldn’t do to the future.”
Hoyer said he had a “pretty good sense early on” that, barring a significant drop in ask, the Cubs wouldn’t be landing any of those high-profile starters with multiple years of control. The Cubs were, however, pursuing other options to the end.
Hoyer was engaged with White Sox general manager Chris Getz up until about 30 minutes before the deadline on right-handed starter Adrian Houser, who is set to become a free agent after this breakout season.
“There was sincere interest,” Getz said in a zoom news conference Thursday. “It wasn’t above the Tampa Bay Rays’ offer, and so that’s why we went to the Tampa Bay route. But I will say we were pretty close on a deal and just didn’t get there.”
The Cubs just didn’t get there with any everyday starting pitcher.
Instead, they approached the innings puzzle from the other end, acquiring two veteran relievers – right-hander Andrew Kittredge and left-hander Taylor Rogers – and a versatile swingman – Michael Soroka. They upgraded their bench by acquiring utility player Willi Castro.
The Cubs traded away four prospects in their Top 20, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, but didn’t go above No. 8.
“I feel good about what we did,” Hoyer said. “I think that we kind of provided insurance in a number of different ways on the roster, and I think we have a really good team, one of our focuses was making sure that we had the depth in order to withstand injuries that we may have during the second half.”
Yes, the Cubs threaded the needle of the present and future, a core value in Hoyer’s team-building philosophy. But other teams in the National League were more aggressive – like the Padres, Phillies and Mets – threatening the Cubs second-place record in the league, behind the Brewers.
The way the playoffs are now structured, the top two seeds in each league get a first-round bye. The other four on each side play in the Wild Card round, regardless of whether they won their division.
“The advantage of getting one of those top two seeds is really impressive,” Hoyer said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition for that. I think you’re alluding to, would getting a young, controllable starter help that? Yeah, I think there’s no question. But ultimately, the goal is to be in this mix every year.”
Not just this year.
That’s the calculation Hoyer made as the clock ran out on the trade deadline.
Soroka
Soroka’s versatility drew the Cubs to him. He’s expected to be in the rotation to begin his time with the Cubs, Hoyer said. But that could change when the Cubs get right-handers Jameson Taillon (strained right calf) and Javier Assad (strained left oblique) back from the injured list, likely in August.
“We want to make sure we can give guys rest,” Hoyer said. “We want to make sure we have enough pitching to get through, and that was a big focus.”
So, the Cubs gave up their No. 13 and 14 prospects – rookie-ball infielder Ronny Cruz, 18, and Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin, 25 – in the trade with the Nationals.
Soroka’s underlying numbers are promising, but his injury history and decline in velocity over the past month pose potential concerns.
Kittredge
Kittredge traveled with the Orioles to Chicago Wednesday night ahead of a weekend series against the Cubs. He’d only been in the team hotel for about a half an hour, he said, before he got a call notifying him of the trade to the Cubs.
“Easy transition,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Switched hotels. That’s about it.”
The 35-year-old right-hander got a tour of Wrigley Field and his new home clubhouse on Thursday, spoke briefly to manager Craig Counsell, and met the pitchers who were in on the off day to do side work.
The Cubs sent minor-league infielder Wilfri De La Cruz, 17, to the Orioles in the trade. De La Cruz, was the No. 17 prospect in the Cubs’ system, according to MLB Pipeline, after they traded two Top-15 prospects for Soroka.
Rogers
Rogers was traded twice in as many days, all within the NL Central. After posting a 2.45 ERA in 40 appearances with the Reds this year, he was briefly traded to the Pirates as part of the Ke’Bryan Hayes deal, before they flipped him to the Cubs for High-A outfielder Ivan Brethowr. The Cubs also received cash.
“We came in wanting to add three pitchers,” Hoyer said.
And the trade for Rogers just before the deadline got the Cubs to that total.
To clear room on the roster, the Cubs designated veteran right-handed reliever Ryan Pressly for assignment.
Castro
“The goal was to add depth to the bench,” Hoyer said. “Willie Castro, in some ways, does that with one person. Having a guy that protects us in a lot of spots, he was a very obvious fit in that regard.”
The Cubs acquired Castro from the Twins for Double-A pitchers Ryan Gallagher, the No. 8 prospect in their system, and Sam Armstrong, the team announced Thursday.
The Cubs haven’t often turned to their bench this season. But with limited playing time, those bench players also haven’t produced offensively, leaving holes in the lineup when regulars have been out due to injury or routine days off.
Enter switch-hitting Castro, who has ample major-league experience at three infield positions and in the outfield. The 2024 All-Star has a .335 on-base percentage this season.