Why didn't the Cubs get another starting pitcher at the trade deadline?

New York Times

2 days ago

CHICAGO — Almost 90 minutes after MLB's trade deadline hit, Jed Hoyer walked into a conference room on the second floor of Wrigley Field's office building. The Chicago Cubs' president of baseball operations had completed a series of sensible deals that were both productive and a little underwhelming.
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The Cubs can put a better product on the field for Friday's 1:20 p.m. first pitch against the Baltimore Orioles. This team was already good enough to go into August with the second-best record in the majors and playoff probabilities in the 90th percentile. All these newly acquired role players should help.
The restrained approach, however, raised a question: Why didn't the Cubs get another starting pitcher before Thursday's deadline?
'It was a really tight market,' Hoyer said, noting a small number of rental starters who were available. 'Of the marquee controllable starters, none of those guys changed hands. We didn't acquire them, and no one else did, either. Obviously, we felt like the asking price was something that we couldn't do to the future.'
Amid the wheeling and dealing across the baseball industry, Hoyer's front office wasn't alone in that thinking. During this window, the Washington Nationals did not trade MacKenzie Gore, and the Minnesota Twins did not trade Joe Ryan. The Miami Marlins retained both Sandy Alcántara and Edward Cabrera after months of trade rumors.
The Arizona Diamondbacks split their two prominent starters nearing free agency, trading Merrill Kelly to the Texas Rangers for three pitching prospects while keeping Zac Gallen for the chance to make him a qualifying offer and get draft-pick compensation.
That rationale — no one else was doing it — could also have appeared to be an opportunity.
The Cubs are guaranteed only 54 more games with All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker before he can become the No. 1 free agent on the board this winter. There is also no guarantee that Pete Crow-Armstrong will keep playing at an MVP level throughout the rest of his 20s.
Losing a road series against the Milwaukee Brewers this week dropped the Cubs to one game back in the National League Central race. All this is happening at a time when their traditional rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, keeps receding.
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Still, the Cubs left the top of an improved farm system almost completely untouched, essentially trading away a bunch of teenagers and mid-round draft picks. Almost all of them were playing at mid-to-lower-level affiliates. Of course, some of those prospects could eventually become household names, but as the Cubs showed in 2016, to win a World Series, you usually have to make some sacrifices.
Hoyer, whose new contract extension the Cubs announced this week, was not going to make an updated version of the Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman trade with the New York Yankees, which helped end the franchise's 108-year championship drought.
For now, the Cubs are sticking with their young talent.
'We've already seen the value of those types of players,' Hoyer said. 'In my experience, the lines of players (often) cross a lot quicker than you think. When you look at our team, there's no way we are where we are without Pete's performance this year. I think Matt (Shaw) is going to have a huge impact. Cade Horton has come up and played well. (Daniel) Palencia's closing for us.'
To be clear, Hoyer's group made potentially significant improvements with targeted deals for specific areas of need. Cubs manager Craig Counsell should have better options with swingman Michael Soroka, right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge and left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers. In looking at matchups and preparing for potential injuries, Willi Castro is a super utility player who can provide insurance and impact.
In acquiring those players for the stretch run, the Cubs did not give up any of their top prospects. Outside of packaging Christian Franklin with Ronny Cruz in the Soroka deal with the Nationals, they did not break up their group of position players at Triple-A Iowa. Moisés Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcántara, James Triantos and Jonathon Long are still part of that cluster.
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'It's sort of rare to have a group of young position players that are basically major-league ready,' Hoyer said. 'With that group, you're not talking about guys that are two or three years away. These guys are ready to help us. I think they're going to help us this year.'
Nevertheless, it's still hard to envision them all ascending and playing at the Friendly Confines together. The Cubs also elected to continue developing Jaxon Wiggins, their top pitching prospect at Double-A Knoxville, who has generated a lot of buzz.
'Young players are the lifeblood of a team,' Hoyer said. 'A lot of those players are going to help us very soon. To give those guys away for guys only helping you for 10 starts or two months – ultimately, I think these guys are going to be Cubs for a long time and provide a ton of value.'
For Kittredge, the Cubs traded the Orioles an infielder in the Dominican Summer League (Wilfri De La Cruz). The Rogers deal saw the Cubs give up a Class-A outfielder (Ivan Brethowr). To acquire Castro from the Minnesota Twins, the Cubs swapped two pitching prospects (Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong), who would be considered more under the radar.
Moving forward, the Cubs will continue leaning on Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. They were not huge names as free agents, but they became All-Stars in Chicago, which says something about the organization's acquisition process, pitching infrastructure and Gold Glove defenders.
At some point in August, both Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad are expected to be activated off the injured list. A healthier rotation would help a deeper bullpen stay relatively fresh. Ballesteros and Caissie could soon graduate from prospect status and deliver big Wrigley Field moments.
'We talked about every pitcher that was available,' Hoyer said. 'Sometimes you line up with certain teams, and sometimes you don't.'
(Photo of Shota Imanaga: John Fisher / Getty Images)