Group of fast-rising Cubs prospects made Jefferson Rojas expendable at the trade deadline

Clay Holmes is now a member of the Chicago Cubs. He, along with Kevin Guasman, give Craig Counsell a pair of battle-tested right-handers to slot into his rotation ahead of the season's final two months - a welcome boost for a staff that's battled injury after injury this year.

The only downside is that Holmes came at a steep cost: consensus top-100 prospect Jefferson Rojas who, by some measures, was the Cubs' top prospect heading into the trade deadline.

So why did Jed Hoyer make that move? In talks, the Cubs' front office discovered that Rojas didn't have as much buzz as expected as a trade chip, having recently been overshadowed by guys like Josiah Hartshorn, Owen Ayers, Kane Kepley and Pedro Ramirez, who continues to play a key role for the big-league club.

Cubs found cooler trade interest in Jefferson Rojas than they expected

According to The Athletic (subscription required), Chicago pivoted to rental starters to avoid having to come off multiple of those names (and more) - setting up a critical offseason where starting pitching will be a major focus for Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins with Gausman and Holmes hitting free agency, along with Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea and David Peterson.

Looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, there was no clear path for Rojas to establish himself as a regular in Chicago. Nico Hoerner signed his long-term extension this spring and Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson have the left side of the infield locked down for years to come. Ramirez rising to the occasion this year did Rojas' chances no favors, either.

So with the overwhelming majority of its prospect core still intact (Rojas and Moises Ballesteros the biggest exceptions), Hoyer has improved the big-league club dramatically, reinforcing his pitching staff in dramatic fashion, without sacrificing the long-term health of the organization. That's not to say that trading Rojas won't come back to haunt the Cubs, but given the improvement we've seen from other key prospects this season, it was a move that the front office needed to make.

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