The trade calls to Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer started picking up last Tuesday and Wednesday, once the MLB Draft wrapped up. And after a bit of a weekend lull, his phone was buzzing again Monday.
“Today has been busy,” Hoyer said Monday. “It always trends toward the end, is how this goes. But I feel like the call volume will be a lot this week and next. I think it'll be pretty steady from now on.”
Now, the July 30 trade deadline is days away. And before then, all those calls will solidify into a smaller set of actual moves.
Hoyer outlined the Cubs’ deadline direction on Monday, saying they probably wouldn’t focus on moves designed to solely boost this year’s playoff chances. That meant honing in on trades that could improve the team for the coming seasons.
He left room for a possible pivot.
“The next seven games obviously matter,” Hoyer said Monday, alluding to the team's 2023 rapid climb back into contention. “Certainly we saw what can happen last year. You never firmly plant your feet. You have to be nimble.”
Now, they’re down to four games before the deadline. And a series loss to the Brewers, in which the Cubs only scored five runs in three games, didn’t change many minds this week.
About two-thirds of the way through the season, the Cubs (49-55) have fallen far short of expectations. They kept together most of the group whose 83-win season last year fell a game short of a playoff berth. And their most notable additions, left-hander Shota Imanaga and first baseman Michael Busch, have been even better than advertised.
They aren’t heading toward another reset. But the inevitability of player personnel changes is creeping in.
“I feel really good about how we're positioned for the future and beyond,” Hoyer said. “And so I think our moves will reflect that at the deadline.”
Manager Craig Counsell, whose signing was the splashiest move the Cubs made this offseason, will be involved in those conversations.
“I’ve kind of always seen it the same,” he said of his role. “A consultant, I guess, is the best way to say it. We have people spending the bulk of their days and weeks and months on players and these issues. That's their sweet spot. You let them do their thing and then help where you can.”
Then after the deadline, it will be his job to rally the group — no matter the degree of change — for two more months of regular season play.
“The players in there, we're going to go compete,” Counsell said this week. “And there may be some different names in the room because the trade deadline’s an opportunity for the whole industry to transact and change things. But for us, it's, go out there and compete.”
Factors like other teams’ interest levels and offers will be out of Hoyer’s control. And those will play a big role in how active the Cubs are at the deadline.
The expanded playoffs have already changed the balance between postseason hopefuls and those making moves for the future. It has yet to be seen how an especially crowded National League wild-card race this year will affect the market.
“By definition, it would tell you that there might be fewer sellers, and potentially more teams not doing the traditional rental-sale type thing,” Hoyer said. “But maybe there are more baseball-type trades out to be made in a world where there's fewer clear sellers.”
