Cubs Boss Jed Hoyer Says No Prospect Is Untouchable at Upcoming Trade Deadline

The Chicago Cubs have long been expected over the last several months to be aggressive when it comes to the trade deadline.

Now that the date is less than two weeks, the Cubs are on the cusp of having some difficult decisions to make.

The market for starting pitching -- Chicago's biggest perceived need -- is fairly thin, and may result in overpays.

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Fortunately for the Cubs, they have the ammunition in the farm system to go get virtually anyone who may be available with one of the best groups of prospects in all of baseball.

Inevitably, some of those prospects will be busts and some will become superstars, and it's up to Jed Hoyer and his staff to make the right calls with the ones they are willing to deal away.

According to Hoyer himself, though, no prospect -- no matter how well they are playing -- is going to be off limits if the hypothetical trade is for a valuable player.

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"It all just depends on the return, honestly. Always, no one is untouchable," Hoyer said via Marquee Sports Network when asked if anyone was going to be off limits. "But at the same time, we have a lot of really good prospects and you have to feel like you're getting commensurate value. So it really just depends on what's available."

The name on everyone's mind as of late has been top outfield prospect Owen Caissie.

Over the last month or two, Caissie has been sensational in Triple-A, and on the season, he's slashing .278/.386/.575 with 19 home runs and 42 RBI in 78 games.

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Caissie has been good enough to play in the big leagues, but they simply have not had a spot for him. The fear in trading him is that he's potentially the successor to Kyle Tucker should Tucker sign elsewhere this winter, so dealing away Caissie unless a superstar is coming back could leave Chicago full of regret.

Hoyer just spent two premium draft picks on outfielders who could be coming in to fill the hole that Caissie would leave.

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It could end up being someone else dealt in the Cubs big acquisition, too, and Hoyer is certainly sending a message to the fanbase that nobody is off limits.

Even more so, he's sending a message to other teams that if they're willing to deal, the top of the farm system is open for business.

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