You typically can’t get a trade-deadline boost without parting with prospects.
But Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will have to walk a fine line as he tries to improve the team ahead of a late-summer pennant race.
Hoyer certainly has a wealth of young talent to deal from, with the Cubs’ farm system boasting five of the top 100 prospects on MLB.com’s latest list. And those young players are extremely important to the Cubs’ fortunes beyond this season.
But opportunities to win the World Series don’t come around too often, which means the front office might face some tough decisions as the Cubs try to win this year.
‘‘That’s the balance, right?’’ Hoyer said Friday. ‘‘You want to focus on what’s happening right now, but [you] also realize we’re set up to have good teams next year and beyond. That’s the constant balance.
‘‘We’re going to have really good teams after this year; I always keep that in mind. But this is what’s right in front of us, and this is really important.’’
Outfielder Owen Caissie leads that group of highly ranked prospects at No. 40. He’s on a hot streak at Triple-A Iowa, hitting .350 with a 1.480 OPS and eight home runs in his last 10 games entering play Saturday.
The Cubs have been one of the best offensive teams in the majors all season. And with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker soaking up playing time in the outfield — and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki able to slide into a corner spot, when necessary — there’s no need for Caissie at the big-league level.
‘‘He’s been awesome, probably one of the best hitters in the minor leagues the last six weeks,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘We haven’t had a need. We’re never going to bring him up to not play every day. That’s
one of the things we’ve talked about a lot with our players in Triple-A. We have a lot of really good prospects there, and they need to develop. Bringing someone up to be in a bench role doesn’t make any sense.’’
But Caissie doesn’t fit the bill of an expendable trade chip, either. With Tucker set to hit free agency — and huge questions about whether the Cubs will be able to employ him past this season — Caissie appears to be a pretty critical safety net should Tucker decide to play elsewhere in 2026.
That has to make Caissie untouchable in trade talks, right?
‘‘Like always, no one’s untouchable,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘At the same time, we have a lot of really good prospects, and you have to feel like you’re getting commensurate value. It really depends on what’s available.’’
Hoyer’s doing what any baseball-department leader does, which is keeping everything on the table as his phone starts buzzing leading up to the deadline July 31.
The Cubs need starting-pitching help because their rotation and the depth beyond it has been thinned by injuries. They also might be in the market for a third baseman because rookie Matt Shaw is struggling offensively.
Hoyer acknowledged it might require some creativity to cross those items off the Cubs’ midsummer shopping list.
‘‘This is a year where there might be some creativity because there’s not a ton of obvious sellers,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘Some deadlines, it’s very obvious: Here are the six to eight clear sellers, and they have a bunch of players that are available. This year, it feels like it may be a little bit of a different year.
‘‘That’s one of the fun parts of this job, right? You kind of have to alter your playbook. You have to think about things differently.’’
The Cubs have been down this road before. In 2016, they prioritized the present and won the World Series, in part because of the contributions of trade-deadline addition Aroldis Chapman, the closer who cost them touted infield prospect Gleyber Torres. Torres started the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
A summer later, they did the same by dealing away highly rated youngsters Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease for Jose Quintana, the starting-pitching boost they needed in the moment.
But those trades are looked at quite differently in hindsight, mostly because of how the seasons played out: a ring in 2016 and an exit in the National League Championship Series in 2017.
Hoyer might have to consider a similar swap this summer as he tries to position the Cubs to compete in October.
Unfortunately, only time will be the judge of any such move, which makes trading any prospect risky business.
Even more risky, though, is passing up a shot at a championship.