What we learned about the Cubs and White Sox at the MLB Trade Deadline
Jed Hoyer talks the Chicago Cubs moves at the MLB Trade Deadline
The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and the Cubs made four acquisitions. Here's what team president Jed Hoyer said about the Cubs' trades over the last 24 hours.
The trade deadline has come and gone. Both the White Sox and Cubs made moves before the deadline expired.
Here's what we learned about both teams after their moves.
Cubs toe the line:
The Cubs needed starting pitching at the trade deadline. Technically, they added some when acquiring Michael Soroka from the Nationals.
Back when the Cubs returned from the MLB All-Star Game break, Cubs president Jed Hoyer was open about the team going all in to trade for the caliber of player that would lift the team to a contending status.
"No one’s untouchable," Hoyer said on July 18.
In the end, Hoyer opted for a less risky route. Instead of trading a player like Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros or Kevin Alcántara for a pitcher like Mackenzie Gore or Sandy Alcántara, the Cubs held on to their top prospects.
Alcántara and Gore remained with their respective teams, which was a point Hoyer brought up.
"It was a really tight market," JHoyer said. "Very few rental starters. Of the marquee controllable starters, none of them changed hands. We didn’t acquire them but no one else did either."
The Cubs came out of the deadline with righty Soroka, utilityman Willi Castro, left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers and right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge in trades across Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.
None of these players are the kind of acquisitions that will improve the Cubs status as contenders. They bolster the Cubs' bullpen, which sorely needed reinforcements, but they don't push the needle further than that.
Hoyer had the conversations for those kinds of pitchers, but he didn't want to sacrifice the team's future that sits in place over in Des Moines.
"We felt the asking price was something we couldn’t do to the future," Hoyers said.
Time will tell if these acquisitions will help the team win the NL Central, and maybe win a playoff series. But, the Cubs
"We made the decision that those prices didn’t make sense for us to be sustainably successful," Hoyer said. "I think the market sort of said that no one else did either."
Would this have meant that whatever the Cubs did would have set the market for premier starting pitching at this trade deadline? With the deadline past, and the Cubs deciding to hold onto a prospect instead of flipping it for a bonafide starting pitcher, we will never know.
Sox change their mentality:
The last few years with the White Sox, it was fairly clear the team had a specific approach to trade deadlines.
If a player has value: get what you can get.
This year, general manager Chris Getz opted for a more restrained approach. Thanks to the team's 8-4 start after the All-Star break, the White Sox no longer need to just deal because they need to sell off for future pieces.
Instead, they can be selective. The Sox made two deals – sending outfielder Austin Slater to the Yankees and pitcher Adrian Houser to the Rays – but showed restraint in trading other starters like Luis Robert Jr. and Mike Tauchman. The Sox got offers for both, but felt their presence alongside their budding young core would be more beneficial than the package of players they were offered.
"We were not highly motivated to move anyone, quite honestly," Getz said.
Now, the White Sox will have Robert Jr. in their lineup for the rest of the season, and maybe beyond. He has a club option in his contract next season for $20 million, which would give Robert a full season to play with the core Getz has put together.
After the deadline, Getz was open about how much Robert Jr.'s start to the second half of the season impacted how he viewed incoming offers.
A younger player or two would help down the line. Robert Jr. can help this team now.
"You look at some of our young players who are beginning to thrive at the Major-League level," Getz said. "I think Luis is part of that."
"We believe in Luis Robert Jr."
Plenty of teams tried to yank Robert Jr., or others, from the White Sox. The Cubs were a team that had dialogue with the White Sox, too. Getz said the two sides came close, but never got a chance to seal the deal.
The White Sox did trade Houser and receive a handful of players in return, like infielder Curtis Mead, as well as pitchers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples.
That deal, and the deals they didn't make, are why Getz is excited for the next two months of baseball.
"We’ve got more pieces than we have in the past that can help us win ball games. The next two months are going to be exciting."