Cubs' Kevin Gausman trade heist of Blue Jays could fuel even bigger deadline ambitions

Reporting over the weekend suggested the Chicago Cubs were looking to add three starting pitchers before the trade deadline on Monday, and their trade for Kevin Gausman certainly puts them in a position to do so.

The expectation has always been that the Cubs would prefer to add a rental starting pitcher, controllable starting pitcher, and another high-leverage arm for the bullpen. It's certainly a layered plan, but one that involved the Cubs finding a rental starting pitcher who not only would be viewed as being a piece of their rotation in October, but could be had on the cheap.

It's why it was hard to imagine the Cubs finding common ground on a trade with the New York Mets involving Freddy Peralta. While the Mets didn't walk way from their trade with the Tampa Bay Rays with a top-100 prospect, the Rays were forced to give up three prospects as part of that deal.

Instead, the Cubs fleeced the Blue Jays. In the deal, the Cubs only gave up outfield prospect Brett Bateman and infield prospect Ty Southisene. MLB Pipeline has Southisene as the No. 134 prospects in the Cubs' system, and Bateman at No. 21.

Cubs pulling a fast one on Blue Jays opens the door to a larger deal before trade deadline

Most importantly, as the Cubs have been connected to controllable pitchers such as Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano of Los Angeles Angels, and George Kirby and Emerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners, neither Bateman or Southisene were mentioned as potential pieces involved in that deal. To that end, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports the Cubs are still hoping to add a controllable starting pitcher before the deadline.

In that type of deal, prospects like Owen Ayers, Jaxon Wiggins, Jefferson Rojas, and Kane Kepley would all potentially be involved. It's also worth mentioning that perceived Cubs' No. 1 prospect, outfielder Josiah Hartshorn, was pulled during the middle High-A South Bend's game on Sunday afternoon. As of this writing, it's still unclear as to the reason why Hartshorn was removed.

It's hard imagining Hartshorn being involved in a deal for any of those aforementioned pitchers. Perhaps Kirby, assuming the rest of the package would be light.

Nonetheless, the Gausman trade, and Jed Hoyer committing a heist of the Blue Jays has left room for significant moves on Monday. If the Cubs come away from Monday with Gausman, a controllable starting pitcher, and a bullpen arm, dare we say, Jed Hoyer would have cooked.

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