Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs both face critical needs ahead of the August 3 trade deadline despite holding Wild Card positions.
- Toronto's offense ranks 21st in team wRC+ and needs more power, while Chicago's pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries.
- Each team holds the prospect depth to make a bold move that could reshape their playoff chances before the deadline.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs kick off a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon with plenty of parallels between them. Both teams began the season with sky-high expectations, Toronto coming off a 2025 campaign that saw them come within two outs of a World Series title and Chicago coming off a transformative offseason in which Jed Hoyer signed Alex Bregman in free agency and traded for tantalizing righty Edward Cabrera. And yet, both teams find themselves buried in third place in their respective divisions as we barrel toward the All-Star break — the product of both underperformance from big names and a downright comical rash of injuries.
Which is what makes them arguably the two most fascinating teams in baseball to follow ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. For as exasperating as things have been so far, the Jays and Cubs start the weekend in a tie for their leagues' final Wild Card spots. With better health, there's still more than enough talent to dream on a deep postseason run, and both front offices have every reason to buy rather than sell at the trade deadline.
What move can each of them make in order to spark a second-half surge? Let's dig in.
Blue Jays need to add more oomph to this struggling offense
It's tempting to focus on the pitching for Toronto, considering the fact that Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer are both currently on the IL and Jose Berrios and Cody Ponce are already out for the year. But Bieber should be back soon as he wraps up a rehab assignment, and once he does, the Jays will be able to roll out a starting five featuring Bieber, Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin — not too shabby, even if it could use one more arm for depth purposes.
The lineup, on the other hand, feels like a more pressing concern. Toronto ranks 21st in team wRC+ this season, and an even worse 24th in Isolated Power (SLG minus batting average; essentially a measure of just how impactful your hits are). Put simply, this offense doesn't have enough pop, especially not with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sitting on four homers.
The returns of Addison Barger and Daulton Varsho should help with that, but the Jays need to add at least one more bat capable of hitting the ball over the fence. They could take a big swing on someone like, say, CJ Abrams or Jeremy Peña — as slick as Andres Gimenez and Ernie Clement are as defenders, they're hardly imposing at the plate — but they could also use a righty outfielder to complement lefties like Varsho, Barger, Jesus Sanchez and Nathan Lukes.
Why not target either of two Angels, Jo Adell or Jorge Soler? Both have had down years so far, but their raw power hasn't gone anywhere, and Toronto would be able to protect them by mostly letting them eat against left-handed pitching. (Adell has an .862 OPS against southpaws this year, while Soler is at .849 for his career.) Get healthy and add some juice behind Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, and this suddenly starts to look like a pretty complete team.
Cubs need to push all their chips in on a starting pitcher
Things are even simpler for Chicago: pitching, pitching and more pitching. The offense has blown hot and cold this season, but the Cubs have little choice but to ride or die with their big-name veterans. The pitching staff is a far bigger concern, with Cade Horton already out for the year and Justin Steele's status very much up in the air and Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd also on the shelf. Oh, and closer Daniel Palencia is now on the IL, too, just for good measure.
With an offseason of change looming — Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Shota Imanaga will all be free agents — this is Jed Hoyer's last chance to take a big swing to try and win with this core. And he has the prospect depth and young MLB talent to acquire the sort of frontline arm that would stabilize this team for the stretch run. Even if the Cubs don't decide to dive head-first into the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, why not make a serious run at someone like Twins righty Joe Ryan? His fly-ball tendencies make him a perfect fit for Wrigley Field once the weather starts to turn, he's in the midst of an excellent season and he comes with one more year of team control in 2027.
Minnesota should be motivated to move Ryan this summer, cashing in when he has two postseason runs left before free agency rather than just one. From Matt Shaw to youngsters like Jefferson Rojas and Josiah Hartshorn, Chicago can put an awfully competitive package together as the Twins look to retool their lineup. Doing nothing at the deadline — simply riding out a team that isn't bad but isn't good enough to seriously contend for a title — would be the worst choice that Hoyer can make, and a hard sell is off the table unless this team fully falls apart. It's time, finally, to get aggressive.
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