Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Jed Hoyer Reveals Tough News on Cubs Trade Deadline Plans

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 5:15 PM ET

As mentioned many times before, if Jed Hoyer wants to continue having his job with the Chicago Cubs over the next few years, he needs to do what's right at the trade deadline.

Sure, the Cubs have done what they've needed to do early in the season, sitting in first place by 5.5 games in the National League Central. However, the campaign is still very young, and if the Cubs don't continue to play this way in the second half, things could get interesting.

There's no way to guarantee wins in Major League Baseball. Even if the Cubs put together the best team of all time, this is baseball at the end of the day.

Things happen, and everybody seems to understand that.

However, if Hoyer doesn't go out and make the moves he has to, there will be no excuses.

But according to a recent report, it sounds like that's what will happen. Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic shared that the Cubs aren't expected to go after any big-name arms, as Hoyer has built a decent rotation and bullpen by adding under-the-radar pitchers.

"The Cubs have built a strong bullpen primarily by looking for value adds like Brad Keller, Chris Flexen and Drew Pomeranz. Continuing to add around the margins makes sense," the insider wrote in reference to the reliever market,” he wrote.

Now, that isn't to say that there couldn’t be a few diamonds in the rough for the Cubs to pursue.

However, if Hoyer wants to make a splash at the deadline, which seems like something he has to do, he can't go in thinking he shouldn’t trade for a star.

Perhaps this is a matter for the Cubs' ownership group, but no matter what, it'll be very disappointing to see Chicago not go all in at the deadline.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: