Cubs Were Fleeced In Trade Deadline Deal

The Chicago Cubs were extremely aggressive at this year’s trade deadline. 

President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer believed this group could make a deep postseason run with the right pieces added. That resulted in the front office making some big moves at the August trade deadline. 

The Cubs traded with the Toronto Blue Jays for Kevin Gausman, agreed to a deal with the Miami Marlins for Braxton Garrett, and bolstered their bullpen by trading with the Los Angeles Angels for Ryan Zeferjahn. 

But the biggest trade that went down for the Cubs at the deadline was their deal with the New York Mets. 

The Cubs traded their No. 2 prospect in Jefferson Rojas in exchange for starting pitcher Clay Holmes and veteran outfielder Tyrone Taylor. The front office made this move to kill two birds with one stone. Holmes immediately solved the team’s pitching needs, while Taylor provided some much-needed outfield depth. 

However, it’s fair to say that the Cubs were fleeced in that deal. 

The Cubs made that move to help them down the stretch and into the postseason. Both players, though, didn’t have a role in the National League Wild Card Round. Holmes didn’t pitch at all in the series, and Taylor logged only one plate appearance. 

Not only did neither Holmes nor Taylor contribute much in the postseason, but the prospect that the Cubs gave up in the deal has a ton of potential. 

Rojas was in the midst of a career year at Double-A Knoxville before being traded. He slashed .270/.339/.461 with 15 home runs, 19 doubles, 57 RBI, and 17 stolen bases in his first 91 games with the Smokies. 

He then continued those strong numbers once traded to the Mets. He slashed .280/.336/.593 with nine home runs, eight doubles, 29 RBI, and three stolen bases in his first 29 games at Double-A Binghamton, and then slashed .308/.345/.692 with three home runs and seven RBI in six games at Triple-A Syracuse. 

The Cubs losing Rojas for two rentals could go down as an all-time bad trade. 

Clay Holmes has a $12 million player option that he will likely decline, and Taylor is a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series. That means the Cubs traded their No. 2 prospect and a top-100 prospect for two rentals that didn’t contribute anything in the postseason. 

The front office might have been too aggressive in that deal for Holmes.