The second half is officially underway for the Chicago Cubs, who kicked off their stretch run with a Friday matinee against the Boston Red Sox. And with the All-Star break now come and gone, everybody on the North Side wants to know the same thing: Who is this team going to add before the July 31 trade deadline?
We know that Chicago will be buyers, and we know that president Jed Hoyer realizes the need for pitching both in the rotation and the bullpen. But all deadline deals aren't created equal; is Hoyer content to upgrade on the margins, or is he pushing his chips in? Thankfully for Cubs fans, they got a loud, clear answer on Friday.
“No one’s untouchable.”
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 18, 2025
Jed Hoyer speaks on the possibility of using prospects to acquire players at the trade deadline. pic.twitter.com/k4CtG16jUk
"It really all just depends on the return, honestly," Hoyer told media members when asked about his trade deadline approach. "No one's untouchable. But at the same time, we have a lot of really good prospects and we have to feel like we're getting commensurate value, so it really just depends on what's available."
Hoyer isn't about to act like he's the last guy at the bar, willing to spend through the nose just to say that he did something. But he also isn't afraid to do the thing that fans have been begging him to do for the last few years now: Be bold. And that's a great sign, because bold is exactly what's required at one of this franchise's biggest inflection points in recent memory.
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Jed Hoyer understands how important this trade deadline is for the Cubs
It's hard to overstate how much the Chicago Cubs have riding on this trade deadline. It's not just that the team hasn't made the playoffs in a full season since 2018, that years of pleading for patience have finally born fruit. It's that, despite how good they've been this season, with a one-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and arguably the deepest and most dangerous offense in the sport, Chicago's window of contention still feels all too perilous.
Kyle Tucker, as you might have heard, is months away from hitting free agency, and he seems more than willing to open himself up to the highest bidder. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner will be free agents after 2026. Justin Steele won't return until the middle of next year at the earliest after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and who knows what he'll look like when he does? The Cubs have as much big-league talent as anyone this side of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a loaded farm system, but if they don't make it count this season, things could start crumbling awfully quick.
None of that is meant to sound overly bleak. It's entirely possible that Chicago brings back Tucker in free agency and is once again among the favorites in the NL, with young talent coming through the pipeline to keep them there for years to come. If you were ranking medium- and long-term outlooks, not many teams would be ahead of the Cubs. But eventually, all that sound process needs to lead to something. Chances don't much better than this, and if Hoyer doesn't do what's necessary, he might not get another one.