Cubs Trade Deadline Grade: Did Jed Hoyer Do Enough?

The 2026 trade deadline is officially over. 

The Chicago Cubs were one of the most active teams at this year’s trade deadline. The Cubs made four total trades in the span of 24 hours, with the addition of starting pitcher Kevin Gausman kick-starting those moves late on Sunday night. 

The Cubs entered this trade deadline with a clear need for pitching. They needed some rotation help and bullpen help for the stretch run. The North Siders were reportedly looking to acquire three total pitchers by the conclusion of Monday’s deadline. 

The front office did exactly that by acquiring Gausman from the Blue Jays, Clay Holmes from the Mets, and Ryan Zeferjahn from the Angels. Chicago also added some starting pitcher depth in the minors with the acquisition of former Miami Marlins starting pitcher Braxton Garrett. 

The question to ask after all those moves is, did the Cubs improve?

The answer to that is yes. 

The Cubs are a better team today than they were before Monday. 

Gausman is an established veteran who has plenty of postseason experience. He had a 2.93 ERA across 30 ⅔ innings pitched in Toronto’s playoff run last year. The 35-year-old is exactly the type of pitcher that the Cubs could give the ball to in Game 1 of a series in the postseason. Although his numbers are a bit down this year, he’s exactly what the team needed to acquire at the deadline. 

Holmes gives the Cubs another solid starter in the rotation. He is still working his way back from a fractured fibula that he suffered in mid-May, but the former reliever has posted solid numbers in each of his first two seasons as a starter. The 33-year-old had a 2.39 ERA in nine starts before his injury this year. Holmes is an extreme groundball pitcher who should thrive pitching behind an infield that has three Gold Glove winners (Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Alex Bregman). 

Zeferjahn is an up-and-coming reliever who has broken out in his second full Major League season. The 28-year-old has a 3.66 ERA with 75 strikeouts across 51 ⅔ innings pitched. He’s an elite swing-and-miss reliever and will immediately be the top setup man in this bullpen. Zeferjahn currently ranks in the 100th percentile in expected batting average against (.162), 96th percentile in whiff rate (34.6%), and 97th percentile in strikeout rate (33.6%). 

The Cubs also added two more players at the deadline. Tyrone Taylor was acquired in the Holmes deal and provides the team with a right-handed bat off the bench. He’ll likely see most of his plate appearances against southpaws, considering he’s batting .301 with five home runs and 14 RBI against them. Chicago bought low on Braxton Garrett in hopes of helping him reach his pre-injury form. Garrett is a controllable starting pitcher with prior success in the big leagues. 

From a pure acquisition standpoint, the Cubs are big winners at this year’s trade deadline. They improved their rotation with Gausman and Holmes. They improved their bullpen with Zeferjahn. They improved their bench with Taylor. 

While the addition of those players meant the departure of Moises Ballesteros, Jefferson Rojas, and other prospects, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer went all in to improve this year. He accomplished that. 

Trade Deadline Grade: A-