Chicago Cubs Were In on Sweepstakes For Top Slugger

The Chicago Cubs will undoubtedly be making moves at this year’s MLB trade deadline as they push toward the postseason. They currently sit atop the NL Central standings and could be getting reinforcements this week with the return of Shota Imanaga. Imanaga’s addition to the team could have been the secondary storyline heading into this week’s crucial road series in St. Louis against the Cardinals if Jed Hoyer and the team’s front office had pulled the trigger on a deal to bring in one of the best sluggers in baseball.

Rafael Devers was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants in the first big trade of the regular season. While the timing of the deal shocked many, teams had been quietly putting feelers out on the 28-year-old masher. One of those teams was the Chicago Cubs. Although they didn’t end up trading for Devers, their interest could indicate a future move to be made. Or at least indicate how they feel about the current state of players on their team.

Rafael Devers Linked to Chicago Cubs Before Trade

The San Francisco Giants made an aggressive move by trading for Devers. Tensions between Devers and the Red Sox organization led to the move and multiple teams were reportedly eager to try and acquire one of the best hitters in baseball. One of those teams was the Chicago Cubs. According to reporting done by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, “The Red Sox say that they had conversations with the Mariners, Cubs, Padres, Blue Jays and Atlanta about Devers before dealing him to San Francisco.”

While the Chicago Cubs were ultimately unable to land Devers, the fact that they were interested could be telling about where they feel their team is. Although they are first in the NL Central and one of the frontrunners for the pennant, their interest in Devers could indicate that they aren’t satisfied with the production they’re getting at the corner infield positions, the spots Devers could feasibly play with a four-man outfield occupying the DH spot in the lineup.

Uncertainty For Busch and Shaw?

Those corner infield spots are currently held by Michael Busch and Matt Shaw. Busch was acquired in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers before last season and has been a serviceable first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He’s currently on pace for a better offensive season in 2025 than in his first campaign with the Cubs in 2024. Last year Busch slashed .248/.335/.440 with 21 home runs and 65 RBI in 152 games. So far through 72 games in 2025, Busch is slashing .271/.365/.504 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI.

Shaw has been one of the top-rated prospects in the Chicago Cubs farm system since the team drafted him in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2023. He broke through to the majors to open the season this year, but struggled mightily out of the gate, slashing a measly .172/.294/.241 before being sent back down to the minors. After spending more than a month in AAA, the Cubs brought him back up and the 23-year-old has been improving at the plate, but not as much as the team is hoping for. Since being recalled, Shaw is slashing .250/.299/.360. He has 2 home runs and 9 RBI on the season.

The reporting that the Chicago Cubs were interested in Devers could be leaving clues that they are looking to make an upgrade on the infield and replace either Busch or Shaw. There’s still more than a month to go until the deadline, so both Busch and Shaw could be on high alert of being potentially traded or demoted if they don’t improve their production at the plate. The Cubs didn’t land Devers, but they could land the next big-time player on the market and either of these two players could be a casualty to get that done.