Chicago Cubs’ Jed Hoyer reveals unsettling trade deadline intel

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Chicago Cubs’ Jed Hoyer reveals unsettling trade deadline intel

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Matthew Schmidt | Last updated Jun 26, 2026 11:06 AM ET

The Chicago Cubs just swung a trade in an attempt to improve their ailing starting rotation, acquiring left-hander David Peterson from the New York Mets. Peterson has an ERA north of 6.00, but the Cubs are hoping that their strong infield defense can help the ground-ball pitcher improve.

Of course, Peterson is hardly the only addition Chicago fans want to see the team make, but he might be the only one for quite some time.

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer revealed some intel on the MLB trade deadline this week, and while he is sure more trades will happen across baseball, he doesn’t seem to think it will be easy to complete deals between now and Aug. 3.

“Realistically, are there gonna be trades in July? Of course there will be, but I think we have to assume that we’re going to be mostly focused internally,” Hoyer said, via Will Sammon of The Athletic. “We’ll talk to every team, we’ll explore things, but realistically, I would imagine, given how teams are clumped together, it’s going to be pretty late toward Aug. 3.”

That isn’t exactly what Chicago fans want to hear, but it’s the stark reality of baseball right now.

Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer is under intense pressure

Jul 18, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer walks on the sidelines before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Many Cubs fanatics have already grown tired of Hoyer, who largely stood pat at the deadline last year only to see the team get bounced by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.

To be fair, Hoyer did add Alex Bregman in free agency while also notching a trade for Edward Cabrera over the winter, but the results haven’t been pretty. The Wrigley faithful wants to see a better all-around product on the field, and as of right now, the fans aren’t getting it.

Chicago has begun righting the ship after a miserable stretch, as it has won 10 of its last 13 games. However, the Cubbies have still gone just 17-25 after a 27-12 start, and with such a horrendous starting rotation that has been ravaged by injuries, a playoff push is going to be challenging.

Hoyer absolutely must make more additions if the Cubs want to be taken seriously as a World Series contender, but as Hoyer noted, it also depends on who is available. In this era of expanded playoff baseball, very few teams are completely out of the race, so you don’t have that many sellers at the moment.

Of course, that could change the closer we get to the trade deadline, so we will see if Hoyer is able to pull off any magic in the coming weeks.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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