When the Cubs got swept into the trade deadline rumor mill, the early read was that Jed Hoyer might finally be ready to push chips in. Then the Reid Detmers reporting turned out to be off, and for a moment it looked like Chicago might drift into a quieter finish. Instead, the Cubs kept swinging.
By the end of the deadline stretch, Hoyer had rebuilt the pitching staff with real intent. The Cubs added Kevin Gausman, Braxton Garrett, Ryan Zeferjahn and Clay Holmes, while also bringing in Tyrone Taylor to deepen the bench. Along the way, they moved Jameson Taillon and paid a price that showed they were willing to spend prospect capital to chase October help.
Here’s how the deals stack up.
August 2: Cubs trade Jameson Taillon to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations. GRADE: A.
There’s no way around it: getting anything back for Taillon was a win. He had already been designated for assignment last week, and a release seemed like the most likely outcome.
Instead, Toronto took on the money, and Chicago got something rather than nothing. That’s a clean outcome for a player who appeared headed for free agency anyway.
August 2: Cubs trade infielder Ty Southisene (MLB Pipeline's No. 13) and outfielder Brett Bateman (MLB Pipeline's No. 17) to the Toronto Blue Jays for Kevin Gausman. GRADE: B
The Cubs needed a starter who could actually take the ball for them in October, and Gausman fits that assignment. Before the deadline, it was reported that Chicago wanted to add three pitchers, so the front office had to balance urgency with restraint.
This move does that. Southisene and Bateman are notable names, but the Cubs were able to land a rental arm without touching their very top tier of prospects.
August 3: Cubs trade infielder Jonathon Long (MLB Pipeline's No. 10) and pitcher Jace Beck (MLB Pipeline's No. 28) to the Miami Marlins for Braxton Garrett. GRADE: C
Garrett fills another need, and he comes with control beyond this season, which mattered to the Cubs. The problem is that he’s still more of a work in progress than a finished product.
His first run back from Tommy John surgery with the Marlins wasn’t impressive, though he has been turning heads in Triple-A. This one feels like a deal that needs time before anyone can really know what it is.
August 3: Cubs trade C/DH Moises Ballesteros and pitcher Mason McGwire (MLB Pipeline No. 18) to the Los Angeles Angels for hard-throwing relief pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn. GRADE: B
This was the clearest sign that Chicago was serious about the present. Ballesteros entered the year close to untouchable, and McGwire had been selected for the MLB All-Star Futures Game this season, so the cost was real.
Still, Zeferjahn brings the kind of power profile that can change a bullpen. His command still needs work, and the production has to hold up, but the Cubs went after a potential bullpen anchor here.
August 3: Cubs trade infielder Jefferson Rojas (MLB Pipeline's No. 2) to the New York Mets for starting pitcher Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor. GRADE: A
This was the boldest move of the bunch. Chicago gave up one of its top prospects, and a top-100 name, for two rental players.
But Holmes could become a re-sign candidate if the next two months go well, and Taylor gives the Cubs a proven fourth outfielder who can hit lefties. With the starting infield controlled through 2029, this is exactly the kind of deal the Cubs could afford to make.
The Cubs didn’t land Tarik Skubal, and they were never going to. Garrett may not be the most polished controllable starter they could have hoped for, either. But taken as a whole, this was an aggressive deadline from Jed Hoyer, and one that matched the moment.
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