At long last, the Chicago Cubs are back in the World Series conversation. It remains to be seen if the Los Angeles Dodgers are truly mortal come postseason time, but it's hard to pick a more complete challenger in the National League than Chicago. They have the coaching, the top-end arms, the elite bats. All the pieces are in place. And yet, like every contender, the Cubs could use a few timely upgrades at the trade deadline.
We have a hair over two weeks left until the deadline on July 31. Jed Hoyer is widely expected to operate aggressively. He knows how finite this window is. Kyle Tucker's contract expires in a few months. Of course the Cubs want him to stick around, but to call that anything close to a guarantee would be a gross lie. This could very well be Chicago's one shot with Tucker in the heart of the lineup.
Chicago is an elite defensive team with two MVP-level bats leading the charge in Tucker and the upstart Pete Crow-Armstrong. The rotation, while hampered by the Justin Steele injury, still features a couple recent All-Stars in Matthew Boyd and Shōta Imanaga.
There are a couple clear-cut needs: the pitching staff and third base. Let's address those with a few potential big-ticket additions.
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3. Jhoan Durán, Minnesota Twins
Of the available relievers at this trade deadline, none profile better than Minnesota Twins fireballer Jhoan Durán. It remains to be seen if the Twins actually want to sell off a controllable reliever with a Wild Card spot technically still within reach, but the right combination of prospects will force Minnesota's hand. Every team wants a high-leverage arm in the closing role, so Durán will drum up quite the bidding war in the weeks ahead.
Blending triple-digit heat with a nasty splitter, Durán has elite swing-and-miss stuff. Through 44 appearances and 43.1 innings pitched this season, the 27-year-old boasts a 1.66 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 49 strikeouts. He has 15 saves to his name and is under team control through 2027, giving Chicago the potential for three postseason runs with Durán before worrying about a second contract.
Daniel Palencia has come into his own this season as a bright spot in an otherwise bleak Cubs bullpen, but adding another save option in Durán will prove quite helpful when the playoffs roll around. Minnesota won't budge without a significant haul of prospects, but Chicago has the farm system depth to pique their interest.
2. Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
Another potential trade deadline casualty in Minnesota, Joe Ryan's name has been swirling around the rumor mill quite a bit lately. Again, the Twins might opt to keep everyone together and push for the playoffs, but given their typical small-market attitude, trading an All-Star pitcher at peak value isn't the worst idea.
Ryan, 29, is also under contract through 2027, so the Cubs can invest in him beyond this season as a foundational piece next to Imanaga and Steele. This has by far been Ryan's best MLB season to date. He was sharp last season, but 2025 has seen the righty elevate to a whole new level: Through 19 appearances (18 starts), he has a 2.72 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 121 strikeouts in 109.1 innings.
There are other buzzy names out there on the pitching market — Sandy Alcántara, Zac Gallen, etc. — but none have outperformed Ryan this season, and the Cubs are trying to maximize this current window. Gallen and Alcántara in particular are more accomplished, but both have been extremely inconsistent this season. Chicago cannot bank on them turning it around in time. Ryan's immediate utility and long-term, affordable control makes him the optimal starting pitcher target if Chicago decides to give the rotation a facelift.
1. Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Matt Shaw experience has fallen well short of expectations this season and Vidal Bruján hasn't exactly been an upgrade at the hot corner. Chicago has the foundations of a killer infield between Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch, but third base remains a relative weak point and a glaring hole in the lineup.
Now just plug the red-hot Eugenio Suárez into that spot and suddenly Chicago's offense starts to feel like it can really keep pace with the heavy hitters in L.A. Suárez, 33, is enjoying his best season to date for the Arizona Diamondbacks, slashing .250/.320/.569 with 31 home runs. That is the second most in the National League, trailing only Shohei Ohtani's 32.
Suárez as the cleanup bat behind Tucker and PCA is quite the tantalizing thought. The Diamondbacks are another team close enough to the Wild Card race to hesitate when it comes to selling off major pieces, but Arizona's injury-battered rotation and the steep hill to climb in the NL West will probably steer them toward a reset. Suárez is an expiring contract, so the Cubs can't view him as a long-term investment. But as a short-term fix to finish out the campaign before the Tucker free agency sweepstakes? There aren't many better options.