Can the Chicago Cubs still win the NL Central in 2025? Of course they can. Can they go on make some noise in October? Maybe. However, now that the dust has settled after the trade deadline Jed Hoyer didn't increase those chances by a considerable amount. Sure, the players acquired the past two days will help, but the need was painfully obvious and Hoyer failed to deliver.
Michael Soroka is going to be fine with the Cubs. His ERA is inflated thanks to some tough luck and a bad defense behind him with the Washington Nationals. Veteran relievers Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge have been remarkably consistent throughout their respective careers, which shouldn't be underrated. Cubs fans have seen how violate relievers can be from one year to the next.
Finally, utility man Willi Castro vastly improves the bench and gives the Cubs another quality hitter against left-handed pitching. He can play six positions on defense, runs fairly well and is pretty much the type of player the Cubs have been searching for in the past few years and haven't had much luck adding.
All that being said, with no assurance that Kyle Tucker is going to stay with the Cubs beyond 2025, and in a position where you currently have one of the best records in baseball, the time seemed perfect for Hoyer to go out of his comfort zone. The Cubs needed a couple starting pitchers and although Soroka can be a hidden gem, you definitely felt like this team needed a bigger arm.
Justin Steele isn't returning until 2026. Matthew Boyd has been spectacular so far this season. He's also pitched 123.2 innings, the most in a year since 2019. Can Boyd keep performing at the same high level during the final two months of the regular and into the playoffs? Colin Rea has made 18 starts this year. It's probably best if he doesn't make many more.
I love Cade Horton. He's still learning how to execute against MLB hitters and he's been so damn good lately, not allowing a run in three of his last four starts. Horton is also coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the majority of the 2024 season and if you include his time at Triple-A to begin the 2025 season, then he's now up to 97.2 innings. Before this year, Horton never threw more than 88 innings in a season. How will his arm hold up as we approach October?
The Cubs don't seem to trust Jordan Wicks in the rotation. Ben Brown did earn the team's confidence out of spring training, but his season has been a rollercoaster.
Jameson Taillon is starting a rehab assignment this weekend. He lasted pitched for the Cubs at the end of June. Javier Assad hasn't pitched for the Cubs all year after suffering an oblique injury and then a setback in April. Assad could be a week or so away from returning.
Sure, things can play out completely fine for the Cubs. Maybe Boyd and Horton remain strong and there isn't anything to worry about. It's possible that Taillon and Assad return and give the pitching staff a boost. Hey, we've seen the coaching staff work magic with pitchers, they can certainly do it again with Soroka.
As a Cubs fan, though, you wanted more certainty coming out of the trade deadline. Yeah, a lot of starting pitchers weren't moved. The Miami Marlins kept Sandy Alcántara and Edward Cabrera. The MacKenzie Gore rumors were fun, but he never seemed like a realist possibility. Mitch Keller is still with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Somehow after all their moves the San Diego Padres still have Dylan Cease. The Minnesota Twins sold nearly everything besides their equipment and Joe Ryan.
The trade market was tough, I guess. Sometimes you "overpay" but you do it to get your team over the top. You don't want to leave any doubt or at least you want to lower the chances of things around you going poorly. The Cubs needed to get at least one game-changing arm. That didn't happen.
For a team that was supposedly going to be the most aggressive at the trade deadline, they walked out leaving Cubs fans questioning leadership more than ever before.
The Cubs begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. At 63-45, they trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game in the division and for the best record in the National League.
Go Cubs.
