Grading Cubs 2025 trade deadline: In defining moment, Jed Hoyer is proven a liar

It's undeniable that when the Chicago Cubs take the field on Friday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles, they will be a better team than the one that departed Milwaukee earlier this week with only one win during a pivotal three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. A Brewers team that enters Friday with the best record in all of baseball.

Looking at the direct individual value of each move the Cubs made leading up to the MLB trade deadline on Thursday, the additions should be better than the players they are replacing.

Andrew Kittredge is a better version of Ryan Pressly, especially when you consider Kittredge offers a level of swing-and-miss that is missing throughout the entire Cubs' pitching staff. Michael Soroka is a safer gamble as a swingman than Chris Flexen. Taylor Rogers should be better than the up-and-down arm the Cubs have been using in recent weeks. Lastly, Willi Castro is immensely more valuable to this roster than Vidal Bruján.

The issue, however, is that Cubs fans have been on this journey before. There is a blatant need on the team's roster, the team ignores it while building up other areas of the roster, only for the blatant need to become obvious as the team plays the games on the field. In other words, exactly what happened with the Alex Bregman debacle this offseason. The Cubs wanted the world to know they tried, but once offers were revealed, it was clear the Cubs did not make a competitive offer.

Jed Hoyer gets exposed as Cubs move makes him look foolish

Which is why, as Jed Hoyer explained why the Cubs failed at their primary goal of the deadline, adding a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, he needs to be viewed as liar.

“It was a really tight market,” Hoyer said. “Of the marquee controllable starters, none of those guys changed hands. We didn’t acquire them, and no one else did, either. Obviously, we felt like the asking price was something that we couldn’t do to the future.”

The Cubs have pointed to the market before this season's deadline and explained that was the reason they failed to make the move they couldn't wait to tell us they were going to make. The market is the market. Sure, the cost for pitchers may have been higher than it was at previous deadlines, but that is why you have the top-heavy talent in your minor-league system. Just because none of the top-tier controllable starting pitchers were moved at the deadline, that does not equate ot you being allowed to puff out your chest and say you did the right thing. You didn't, and the direct result will be an early exit in October.

Grading Cubs 2025 trade deadline: D

The Brewers confirmed this week that they are better at every facet of baseball than the Cubs. And, if you think that's an overreaction to one series, you have been blind to what has been happening in the National League Central since 2017. For the Cubs, the difference was supposed to be the front office and resources available to make moves to close the gap. The only thing this trade deadline proved is that it isn't a difference-maker for the Cubs.

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