The Chicago Cubs front office, this past offseason, declared themselves to be “all in” when it came to making a serious playoff run in 2025.
Whether or not they were truly “all in,” however, can be debated. They never made a play at any high-end starting pitchers. They made only a token effort at grabbing Alex Bregman. They were outbid by the Dodgers for closer Tanner Scott.
What can’t be debated, though, is that they were successful in putting together a really quality, versatile team that has thus far proven itself to be as resilient as it is talented.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer deserves a good portion of the credit for this 2025 team, but some will insist that Hoyer’s contract status pushed him into a sense of “win now” urgency. With his deal set to expire at the end of this season, the exec’s back was against the wall and he had to produce his first postseason team since taking the Cubs helm from Theo Epstein in 2021.
The 3-for-1 Kyle Tucker trade with the Houston Astros, specifically, is pointed to as the kind of bold move forced into reality by the pressure to win now or else. In the deal, the Cubs traded away Isaac Paredes, Heyden Wesneski, and no. 1 draft pick Cam Smith for a multi-tool star in his contract year who could very well be gone next season. That’s a mighty big “win now” gamble and not in the Cubs front office character profile at all.
MLB insider and ESPN analyst Jesse Rogers feels that Hoyer’s gamble will pay off and that Cubs ownership will not only extend him, but will offer him his new contract sooner rather than later.
Per Rogers on ESPN Chicago’s Waddle and Silvy Show:
“I would not be surprised if he’s given a new contract by the all-star break. I think he’s more likely to get it sooner rather than later, possibly before the trade deadline. It’s like kind of one of those things, if you’re gonna impact our team for years to come, let’s sign you up. I really could see that. Now, the other option is three days after the season ends. But I think he’s in line for that extension– three years, five years, whatever [Tom] Ricketts wants to do. But I would not be surprised if it happens between now and July 31st.”
For the record, Hoyer as said repeatedly that the decisions made this year have nothing to do with his contract status.
“It’s not going to change any decisions we make,” Hoyer told the Chicago Sun-Times back in January, one month after acquiring Tucker. “That’s what people always ask. ‘You’re in the last year, are you guys going to do things differently?’ It’s like, of course not. That’s not my job.
“This is about the fans. This is about Chicago. This is about the Cubs. These things are so much bigger than me. I’m not going to make decisions that impact a city or a fan base based on my self interest.”
Whatever the case, Hoyer’s contract status may, indeed, affect how things go down as the Cubs close in on the July 31st trade deadline.
Will an extended Hoyer, with a vested interest in preserving the team’s future, be less likely to part with prized prospects in pursuit of a major deadline acquisition?
Could the opposite be the case? Could a secure Hoyer push harder to make the big deals needed to get the team a deep playoff run (or more)?
As is always the case, time will tell.
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The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
For the first time since the Las Vegas Raiders' shocking release of DT Christian Wilkins on Thursday, head coach Pete Carroll fielded questions about the move. "To make our decision, we watched our way through the whole thing," Carroll told the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vinny Bonsignore. "We're keeping really clear with what we said. I think there was no clear path to his return, and we just had to move on." Wilkins was injured in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos last season, suffering a foot injury that would put him on the IR after five games. It was not what the Raiders had hoped for after then-general manager Tom Telesco signed him to a four-year, $110 million deal in March 2024. Initially, Wilkins did have surgery, but wasn't healthy by the time organized team activities started, and his rehab proved to be a "challenging process" as described by Carroll a few months ago. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Las Vegas reportedly wanted Wilkins to undergo another foot surgery, but he declined, which led to the release of the six-year pro from Clemson. The Raiders are attempting to void $35.2 million in remaining guarantees that Wilkins was owed on his contract. The NFLPA filed a grievance against Las Vegas as a result. Wilkins was brought in to help star pass rusher Maxx Crosby create problems for opposing offenses. The Raiders got a brief look when Wilkins recorded 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and two sacks before he got injured in the second quarter. The injury was unfortunate for Las Vegas, which had counted on Wilkins to produce similar results, as he had in his last three seasons with the Dolphins, recording 17 sacks, including nine in 2023. Perhaps Raiders GM John Spytek saw this coming when the silver and black selected Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues in the 2025 NFL Draft. While there is still time to find the next player to fill the void left by Wilkins, there is a massive hole in the interior line.
The New York Yankees’ first move ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline falls a bit flat. They traded two prospects most fans have never heard of to acquire Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, a lackluster move that indicates New York is throwing in the towel on the 2025 season. McMahon is an upgrade — but only a slight one. Yankees GM Brian Cashman replaced a .147 hitter in Oswald Peraza with a .217 hitter in McMahon, who also happens to lead the National League in strikeouts (127). But really, New York just added another Anthony Volpe — one of the biggest problems in the Bombers’ lineup — to the left side of their infield. The two infielders’ 2025 stats tell virtually the same sad tale: McMahon: .217/.314/.403, 16 home runs Volpe: .214/.286/.400, 13 home runs The Yankees should have risked a top prospect or two for Arizona Diamondbacks power-hitting third baseman Eugenio Suarez. A 2026 free agent, Suarez is a rental, but with his .252/.325/.593 slash line, 33 home runs and MLB-leading 86 RBI, he’d be a huge upgrade at third base, rather than a slight one. Instead, the Yankees opted for a player who they’ll have control over until 2028 and cost them almost nothing to acquire. Apparently, they believe McMahon will prove valuable in the long run, based on his advanced analytics. After all, he’s been crushing the ball in 2025, averaging a 94 mph exit velocity. However, his ability to hit the ball hard doesn’t mean he’s just been unlucky this year, as his xBA is just .232 — not too far below his .240 career actual batting average. Compare that to another guy who’s known for hitting the ball hard in Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who is hitting just .232 but has an xBA of .289. It doesn’t matter how hard McMahon hits the ball if he tends to hit it directly at a fielder. There’s still a week until the trade deadline, but don’t expect the Yankees to make any truly splashy moves. Suarez was the better choice to fix New York’s third base issues, and their pivot to McMahon was disappointing.