Chicago Cubs trade deadline revelation debunks “all-in” mindset

The Chicago Cubs’ fall from grace has been jarring and a point of wild frustration.

In just about two-and-a-half months, the team went from 6.5 games in first place atop the NL Central Division to 9 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, deeply buried in second place.

A lot of the slip from first place has to do with the wild winning streak of the red-hot Brewers, who have defied common baseball logic with 47-16 record since June 1. Another big part of the Cubs’ fall, however, has to do with them basically being a .500 team (33-31) since June 1.

The Chicago Cubs’ trade deadline fail

There was a chance, though, for Chicago’s front office to cut through the doldrums and give the team a direct shot of “we believe in you” adrenaline by pulling off a big acquisition at the July 31 trade deadline. The Cubs were limping into the deadline with several glaring needs and there was intense buzz saying that Cubs president Jed Hoyer and his staff would be aggressively in pursuit of an outside boost to push the team forward.

Instead, they got two middle relievers (Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rogers), IF/OF Willi Castro, and the oft-injured back-of-rotation Michael Soroka, who would only pitch two innings for the Cubs before going on the IL.

The disappointment was palpable, arguably deflating the morale of the players, themselves, who’ve generally looked flat and have only mustered a 6-8 record since the deadline.

Were the Cubs ever really “all-in?”

But was the Cubs front office ever really in the hunt for a major acquisition or were they always just rooting around the fringes, prospect hoarding with an eye on budget pickups?

A recent Twitter/X comment from sportswriter Jason Shetler points to the Cubs not being as invested into acquiring Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller, reportedly a top target of theirs, as hotly rumored:

“Noah Hiles [Pirates beat writer for the The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] said on Bucco Talk that the Orioles were the most interested in Mitch Keller during the final days of the trade deadline.

Pirates need bats & the Orioles are loaded with them. Baltimore also wants a quality, rotation arm.

Will the 2 sides revisit in the offseason?”

Sure, this is just a bit of a throwaway comment and it doesn’t discard the idea that the Cubs might have been interested to some degree. But it does show that Chicago wasn’t as aggressively “all-in” as the front office was said to be.

The GM’s confirmation

The Cubs’ conservative trade deadline mindset was pretty much confirmed after the fact by general manager Carter Hawkins, who issued a befuddlingly awful take about a week after the deadline, as the Cubs languished in an extended slump and fans fumed about the lack of a trade deadline haul.

“It’s hard when you see other teams you’re competing with get really good players, but those aren’t decisions you’re making in the moment,” Hawkins told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “…It takes some discipline, especially in a moment when you see things moving that way, but we were able to stick to our approach and felt really good about the adds we were able to make.

“Teams are trying to find that guy that can lock down the eighth or ninth inning but that also costs a lot. That costs a lot of future wins. We have a responsibility to the 2025 Cubs but also the 2032 Cubs. That’s not always popular in the moment, but it’s decisions we have to make.”

On a “things nobody wants to hear during a pennant race” scale of 1-10, that was a 35. But it’s also totally believable given the frugal ownership and the recently-extended Hoyer, who’s post-contract extension focus seemed to suddenly shift from “winning now” to circling the wagons for future considerations.

Nobody will ever know what really went into the Chicago Cubs’ late season slump. It was likely a mix of several factors. But the lack of a post-deadline cavalry to help with the heavy season haul has to be a contributing factor. Former Cub Anthony Rizzo attests to how much of a shot in the arm a big acquisition at the deadline can be and, conversely, how a front office’s perceived unwillingness to land a big name can hurt morale.

At this point, though, there’s nothing that can be done, other than brace oneself for several more years of the same from Hoyer and Cubs ownership.