3 big-name Cubs' targets who Jed Hoyer should avoid at all costs at the trade deadline

The Chicago Cubs have been in a bit of a rut lately and are still reeling after losing their grasp on first place in the NL Central by way of a demoralizing sweep at the hands of the Brewers. While Pete Crow-Armstrong and other Cubs players are certainly taking accountability for the team's recent skid, the buck ultimately stops with the front office.

Jed Hoyer and the rest of the front office recently called up top infield prospect Pedro Ramirez to try and provide a short-term spark, but as this summer's trade deadline gets closer the calls for external additions will only grow louder. With the Cubs all but certain to buy over the summer, there will be plenty of names bandied about that fans think Hoyer should target. Who to target is important, of course, but it's also important to avoid making the wrong deal. Here are three players to steer clear of:

Jack Flaherty looks like a shell of the free agent the Cubs once pursued

All the way back in January of 2025, that offseason's free agent market had just a handful of notable pieces left on the board. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand highlighted five big stars still available at that time. The Cubs famously pursued both Roki Sasaki and Alex Bregman that winter among that five, but they also swung and missed on Jack Flaherty. Feinsand described Chicago as "in the mix" for Flaherty's services at the time, although he ultimately wound up signing in Detroit.

The Cubs viewed letting Bregman slip through their fingers as a big enough mistake that they rectified that this winter by signing him to a five-year contract. The results of that decision have been mixed. No matter whether you think Bregman is an asset or a disappointment, Hoyer should avoid doubling down on this trend and pursuing Flaherty if the Tigers make him available this summer.

That's because Flaherty has looked like a different player entirely since signing that free agent deal—and not in a good way. Last year, Flaherty's 31 starts for the Tigers saw him put together a deeply disappointing 4.64 ERA. His peripherals mostly remained solid, but he decided to exercise a $20M player option rather than return to free agency. The Tigers are now surely wishing he had walked, because in ten starts this year his ERA is north of 5.00 with peripherals to match.

That's the sort of production that the Cubs could expect to match or exceed with back-of-the-rotation depth pieces like Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Jordan Wicks. There's no reason for the team to spend precious prospect capital bringing in a player who isn't better than the internal options they already have.

Ryan Helsley's peripherals suggest his days as a star closer might be behind him

Starting pitching is the obvious focus of most discussions surrounding the Cubs' needs this summer, and that's for good reason. There's also a clear argument for bolstering the bullpen as well, however. While Hoyer and the front office did quite well to put together an elite bullpen from the scrap heap last year, Phil Maton is no Brad Keller.

That could leave the Cubs on the prowl for high-end relief help, and there would be some satisfaction for fans in bringing in former Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. Helsley terrorized the Cubs for years as one of the top closers in the game, and having a power arm like that pitch for Chicago rather than against them would definitely feel good. Unfortunately, there's reason to worry if Helsley is still that elite arm at all.

On the surface, his work with the Orioles has been nothing short of excellent. A 2.53 ERA and seven saves across his first twelve appearances with Baltimore is nothing to sneeze at. There's plenty of red flags if you look beyond the surface numbers, however. The most obvious is that Helsley is currently on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. MLB.com suggests in their latest injury round-up that Helsley can be expected back in early June, but it's fair to wonder how he'll look upon his return.

That's because there were some red flags in his peripheral numbers even before he went on the shelf. Helsley's velocity was down from his career norms this year, and he was walking opponents at a worrisome 15.2% clip. That's just too much uncertainty with the righty for the Cubs to spend significant prospect capital on him. The Mets surely wish they didn't trade for him last summer, and with a pricey player option for next year, Hoyer would be smart to steer clear of this closing option.

Trading for Freddy Peralta would mean paying for the name rather than the production

Speaking of the Mets, they've been a hotly-discussed potential trade partner for the Cubs amid some major early-season struggles for the club. Right-hander Freddy Peralta has been the most talked about trade target for the Cubs on New York's roster, and fans certainly remember his strong numbers against Chicago throughout most of his tenure in Milwaukee.

Any Cubs fan can see how it would feel good to stick it to Milwaukee and poach Peralta from them just like we did manager Craig Counsell, but spite doesn't win trophies. Peralta's certainly a good pitcher, with a 3.31 ERA across ten starts this year, but it's hard to look at his peripherals and see the ace he once was. With the Mets, he has a career-low 23.2% strikeout rate, and his 10.7% walk rate is the highest its been since his rookie campaign.

A downward trend in strikeouts with an upward tick in walks is a recipe for disaster, and while Peralta has been able to hold it together so far, teams pay for confidence when buying an ace. There's little reason at this point to have more confidence in Peralta than another veteran mid-rotation arm like Boston's Sonny Gray or even Kansas City's Kris Bubic, and trading for one of them is unlikely to be nearly as costly as paying for Peralta's pedigree.

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