The Milwaukee Brewers made the first notable move of the trade deadline window on Saturday morning, dealing with the Cleveland Guardians to shore up their catching group and add a familiar name to the bullpen mix.
Milwaukee landed catcher Bo Naylor and former Chicago Cubs reliever Codi Heuer in the trade. Going back to Cleveland were outfielder Blake Perkins and relief pitcher Craig Yoho.
Brewers acquiring Bo Naylor in trade for Craig Yoho
- Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 1, 2026
The early read on this deadline is that catchers are drawing real interest. The Baltimore Orioles, as the source material noted, appeared to overpay for Jake Rogers earlier this week after he had been designated for assignment, and the Brewers followed that market by giving up a controllable fourth outfielder and a pre-arbitration reliever with upside for Naylor and Heuer.
That matters for the Cubs, too. There has been growing chatter that Carson Kelly could be available in trade talks involving Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins, and this Brewers move only reinforces the idea that a catcher with value can bring back a meaningful return. Kelly probably isn’t at the top of Chicago’s to-do list, but with teams such as the Yankees looking for help behind the plate, the market is worth watching.
There’s also a pair of Cubs-related concerns tucked into Milwaukee’s deal. One is that the Brewers may be positioning themselves to move veteran catcher Gary Sanchez before the deadline, for the same reasons Chicago could consider dealing Kelly.
The other is Heuer. Milwaukee now has a chance to get out of him what the Cubs once hoped for when they acquired him in the Craig Kimbrel trade with the Chicago White Sox at the 2021 deadline.
At that point, there was real belief Heuer could grow into the Cubs’ long-term closer. Instead, injuries defined nearly his entire time on the North Side, with the end of the 2021 season being the only stretch he actually pitched out of the Cubs bullpen.
His profile looks different now, but the possibility remains that the Brewers unlock the version of Heuer the Cubs never got - and turn him into a high-leverage arm down the stretch.
In Other News...
Cubs Just Got Pulled Into Torontos Deadline Rotation Shakeup
Torontos deadline-day rotation shuffle has already sent ripple effects through the league, and the Cubs were pulled into the middle of it before the dust could settle. The Blue Jays moved quickly ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, adding Jose Soriano from the Angels while also reshaping the staff with veteran arms, a sign they were prioritizing immediate stability as they mapped out the rest of 2026 and even looked ahead to 2027.
For Chicago, the bigger story is how this kind of deal changes the market around it. A club in deadline mode can turn one trade into a broader reset, and the Cubs now sit in the orbit of a Blue Jays rotation plan that could still keep evolving as Toronto weighs future moves involving its veteran pitchers. Even after the first wave of action, the way Toronto sorts out its staff may decide whether this becomes a one-off adjustment or the start of something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Just Paid A Real Prospect Price For An October Push
The Cubs made a clear win-now move, parting with one of their better infield prospects to shore up the roster for the stretch run. Jefferson Rojas was sent to the Mets in a deal that brought back Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, a transaction that signals Chicago is treating October as more than a distant goal and more like a window worth pushing through right now.
Holmes gives the Cubs a right-handed arm who is still on the injured list but getting close to a return, while Taylor adds experienced outfield depth for the final months of the season. It is the kind of trade that usually comes with an uncomfortable cost, and Chicago paid it by moving a player it had reason to value, betting the short-term upgrade will matter more than the long-term regret. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Just Got A Surprising Deadline Opening They Still Needed
The Cubs still have not made a trade move, but they do have one of the more intriguing deadline paths to monitor as they poke around with Texas. The Rangers have shifted their approach enough to at least listen on some pitching, which has put Chicago in the mix for arms such as Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore and Jacob Latz. For a club looking for help without blowing up its deadline, that kind of opening is worth watching closely.
Texas, though, has also sent a mixed message to rival front offices, which is part of what makes this whole thing feel so unsettled. Trade talks can turn quickly at this time of year, and the Cubs are weighing options in a market where the other side may not be nearly as available as it first seemed. [Read more 🡒]