The Chicago Cubs were reportedly in conversations with the Toronto Blue Jays about acquiring Jose Soriano before the trade deadline, potentially adding another controllable starter to an already revamped rotation.
The Chicago Cubs front office came out swinging at the MLB trade deadline. The Cubs needed pitching, and Jed Hoyer made three deals on deadline day to add arms that could contribute to the 2026 Cubs.
Chicago landed right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes from the New York Mets, left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins, and right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays. And those are just the starting pitching additions. But there can be no denying the fact that the Cubs cast a wide net. So much so that they were in conversations with the Toronto Blue Jays about making an even bigger splash than Gausman.
According to a report from Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays beat writer for The Athletic, after acquiring right-handed pitcher Jose Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels, the Blue Jays took calls from other teams, including the Cubs, about flipping Soriano in the hours before the deadline.
Unlike Gausman and Holmes, Soriano would have given the Cubs a controllable starting pitcher who adds to the future outlook of the team. His contract runs through 2028, and in 23 starts with Los Angeles and Toronto this season, he has a 3.24 ERA over 127.2 innings pitched.
It's unclear what the Cubs offered in their conversations with Toronto, but you'd have to think the price would have been steep. The Angels landed Arjun Nimmala, the No. 43 ranked prospect in all of baseball and the No. 2 prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. The Minnesota Twins were reportedly interested in Soriano as well and offered Kaelen Culpepper, their No. 2 prospect and the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball, but were ultimately unable to line up with the Blue Jays on a deal.
A package from the Cubs likely would have included outfielder Josiah Hartshorn and more. Hartshorn is the No. 1 prospect in Chicago's organization, posting a .926 OPS at two levels of minor league baseball this season as a 19-year-old.
Every year, there are these trade negotiations that never come to be. But it's very rare that we get a clear picture of what might have been. And while the Cubs settled for two rental starting pitchers and veterans with postseason experience, it should be encouraging for Cubs fans to know that the organization was quite aggressive in exploring all of its options.
Soriano was strong in his first game for the Blue Jays, but not nearly as strong as Kevin Gausman was after coming to the Cubs. He threw seven innings of two-run baseball and earned a win in his Cubs debut against the Kansas City Royals over the weekend. If Gausman keeps pitching like that, Chicago will be elated that it chose the 35-year-old veteran while only parting with outfielder Brett Bateman and shortstop Ty Southisene.
He may not come with the same control, but it's the 2026 impact that matters most right now. The Cubs will have plenty of opportunities to build their starting rotation over the winter.
