Cubs president of baseball operations teases potential 'zag' at MLB trade deadline

The Chicago Cubs are still two months away from the trade deadline. That doesn’t mean president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer isn’t already quite active, working the phone lines and preparing for when the time comes to start pulling the trigger on trades.

Speaking to the media earlier this week, Hoyer clued everyone into where the Cubs will be looking at this trade deadline. To no one’s surprise his focus on pitching. What is still a mystery is just who he’s going to acquire as well as how he might go about getting someone or multiple someones.

Jed Hoyer sends clear message on Cubs’ trade deadline plans

“To quote our manager, we just need to get outs, you know?” the Chicago Cubs team president said at his Tuesday press conference. “We have to figure that out, whether it’s the beginning of the game or the end of the game.”

In other words, Hoyer knows that the team could use both another starting pitcher, but could also use someone at the back of the bullpen. Whether that means closer or just late game reliever who could complement burgeoning closer Daniel Palencia.

“[Our depth has] been tested, and we have to assume that that’s not going to stop, that we’ll continue to be tested. We have to continue to find depth where we can find it.”

Hoyer also made it clear that’s easier said than done. The trade market has shifted thanks to an expanded playoff format, for one. There’s also a factor at play considering Chicago is one of the best offenses in baseball, while the starting rotation is currently down its top two starting pitchers (one for the season) and the bullpen has struggled at times.

Every team in the league knows what the Cubs are looking for

“Ultimately, it is going to be somewhat sellers’ market dependent,” Hoyer said. “If there’s none of one of those things available, you have to zag a little bit, and you have to be prepared to do that. And that could be the nature of this market.”

What exactly that means won’t be known until the MLB trade deadline has come and gone. But it does appear the Chicago Cubs' front office wants to make it clear they won’t be at the mercy of other teams’ asking prices.