Report: Cubs Nearly Made Major Trade Deadline Splash
The Chicago Cubs were reportedly in conversations with the Toronto Blue Jays about acquiring Jose Soriano before the trade deadline, potentially adding another controllable starter to an already revamped rotation.
Video Transcript
The Chicago Cubs had a really successful MLB trade deadline.
Jed Hoyer knew his team needed pitching, and the Cubs swung big, casted a wide net, and landed three deals for starting pitchers, Clay Holmes from the Mets, Braxton Garrett from the Marlins, Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays.
You cannot doubt Chicago's effort, so much so that they were in conversations with the Blue Jays about making an even bigger splash than Gausman.
According to reporter Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays beat writer, the expressing interest in right-handed pitcher Jos Soriano after the Blue Jays had already acquired him from the Angels ahead of the deadline.
Teams were calling Toronto, seeing if they would flip Soriano to them after they didn't match up well with the Angels.
Unlike Gausman and Holmes, Soriano would have given the Cubs controllable starting pitching.
His contract runs through twenty twenty-eight, and with a three point two four ERA over a hundred and twenty-seven innings this season, it's easy to understand why the Cubs liked him both now and for the future.
Now, it's unclear what the Cubs offered to Toronto in these conversations, but you'd have to think the price would have been steep.
The Angels landed Arjun Nimmala, the number forty-three prospect in all of baseball, the number two prospect in the Blue Jays system, in the deal that they ended up accepting.
The Minnesota Twins reportedly called Toronto about sending them Kayden Culpepper, the number two prospect in their system, the number twenty-nine prospect in all of baseball, but were ultimately unable to line up with a deal.
So if the Cubs had agreed to a package with the Blue Jays, Josiah Hartshorn is the start of it, and you'd have to think that there would be more included in that deal.
Hartshorn, the number one prospect in the organization, a nine twenty-six OPS at two levels of Minor League Baseball as a nineteen-year-old.
Every year there are these trade negotiations that just never come to be, but it's very rare that we get a clear picture like this about what the Cubs were trying to do.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out because right now you have to be feeling pretty good about Kevin Gausman.
He did seven innings of two-run baseball for the Cubs in his debut against Kansas City.
Soriano is strong as well, but if they're gonna pitch both very well, you'd rather be the Cubs giving up very little for Kevin Gausman than overhauling your farm system to go and get Jorge Soriano, Jos Soriano.
You can readdress the starting pitching in the off-season.
There will be plenty of time for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs to acquire the controllable starter that they want, build the rotation for the future.
So yes, Soriano would have been nice.
He may not, uh-- and Gausman may not come with the same control, but it is simply the twenty twenty-six impact that matters most right now.
And you feel good about what Gausman has given the Cubs so far, but an interesting rabbit hole nonetheless as we see how the rest of Jos Soriano's season plays out.
