Cubs’ Hoyer Says No To Offers Involving His Top Prospects

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JULY 12: Owen Caissie #17 of the Chicago Cubs bats in the MLB Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)

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While the Cubs made no major trades before Thursday’s deadline, their lack of activity leaves open the possibility of a bigger one before the end of the year.

To acquire a bat like Eugenio Suarez or an arm like Mason Miller, Dylan Cease or Joe Ryan, Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer would have had to part with one of the organization’s top outfield prospects, Owen Caissie or Kevin Alcantara. But their entry-level salaries will come in very handy if they find a way to keep Kyle Tucker from leaving via free agency.

It seems a long shot for Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and Hoyer to put together a contract extension that keeps Tucker off the free agent market. But one way to create the payroll flexibility to allow for a 10-year, $500-million contract — seemingly the going rate for an elite hitter in his prime — would be to trade Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki in the off-season, clearing $18 million in salary. Caissie or Alcantara are positioned as potential long-term replacements.

While some fans surely hoped Hoyer would invest prospect capital to land major pieces in the trade market, he instead focused on adding depth pieces to the roster that is on pace to win 94 games. Amid MLB’s flurry of activity before the deadline, the Cubs came away with starting pitcher Mike Soroka, relievers Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge and utility man Willi Castro.

The asking price for front-line starting pitching was extremely high. Both Cease and Ryan figured in rumors but neither was traded. The same was true for the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera.

The contract extension Hoyer received from Ricketts last week must have made it easier for him to stick with the long-term approach he has had since replacing Theo Epstein as the team’s president of baseball operations.

Hoyer did make one hedge against the current roster on Thursday, adding the switch-hitting Castro from Minnesota for right-handers Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong. The 22-year-old Gallagher had advanced to Double-A in his first full pro season and was ranked No. 8 among the organization’s prospects by MLB Pipeline.

Castro, a 2024 All-Star, has produced a .743 OPS in 344 plate appearances this season. He’s played mostly outfield and second base for the Twins but has played enough third base to be seen as a veteran complement to rookie Matt Shaw.

Rogers, a 34-year-old lefty, pitched well in 40 appearances for Cincinnati this season (2.45 ERA in 40 games). The Pirates acquired him from the Reds in Wednesday’s Ke’Bryan Hayes trade but spun him to the Cubs on Thursday, receiving outfielder Ivan Brethowr in return. A seventh-round pick in 2024, he projects as a power hitter but is a long way from the majors.

Hoyer made a couple of trades on Wednesday that seem more likely to produce incremental improvement than major impact. The best part about the deals for pitchers Soroka (Nationals) and Kittredge (Orioles) is that the Cubs didn’t have to give up known commodities to get them.

That said, the Nationals seemed to do well to get 18-year-old shortstop Ronny Cruz and 25-year-old outfielder Christian Franklin for Soroka, who was 0-10 a year ago for the 121-game losing White Sox and currently has a 4.87 ERA in 16 starts. The Cubs were desperate to add rotation arms with Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad on the injured list and Ben Brown in need of a reboot.

Soroka has improved this year due to improved use of his slurve, which he’s thrown 35 percent of the time, holding hitters to a .124 batting average. He started his career performing under pressure (13.4, 2.68 with Atlanta in 2019), his first full season. He hasn’t been nearly the same since missing 2021 and ’22 with a torn — and re-torn — Achilles tendon but maybe he’ll respond to pitching in big games in August and September.

While Franklin seemed expendable — he’s a high-floor player but stuck in a positional backlog — Cruz is the kind of lottery ticket that could make Hoyer regret this trade. He was a third-round pick in 2024 after relocating from the Dominican Republic to Miami during high school. MLB Pipeline ranked him 13th among the Cubs’ prospects.

Both Kittredge and Soroka are playing on one-year contracts, so they figure to be strictly rentals. Kittredge, who is known for a wicked, swing-and-miss slider, seems likely to play an important role in a Cubs’ bullpen that hasn’t had much stability among its high-leverage arms. He was producing an elite chase rate (41.7) while walking only 6.3 percent of hitters with the Orioles.

Kittredge is coming off a strong 2024 season in St. Louis. He compiled a 2.80 ERA in 74 appearances, delivering 1.6 WAR. He was worth 2.4 WAR for Tampa Bay in 2021, earning an All-Star spot. Kittredge joins Brad Keller and lefties Caleb Thielbar and Rogers working in front of neophyte closer Daniel Palencia.

The Cubs were positioned to land more immediate help than they did. But you can understand why Hoyer didn’t want to part with inexpensive hitters like Caissie, Alcantara and future DH Moises Ballesteros if he still hopes to win with Tucker in 2026 and beyond.