It took Jed Hoyer a month to put together the Cubs' biggest trade deadline move

Most everybody expected the Tampa Bay Rays to move Isaac Paredes at the trade deadline. But few, if any, anticipated the Chicago Cubs being the team to pry him away.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke to MLB.com this week, touching on the team's relatively quiet finish leading up to Tuesday's deadline, and shed some light on how long he'd been working on the Paredes trade: roughly a month.

“It’s challenging, but that was not a deal that started overnight,” Hoyer said. “Given the number of teams that reached out to me after we acquired Paredes, I know a lot of teams were involved in that bidding.”

Cubs swooped in and shocked the baseball world when pulling off the Isaac Paredes deal ahead of this week's MLB trade deadline

Paredes was widely regarded as one of the biggest impact bats who was available leading up to the deadline and, in acquiring him, Chicago shored up a position that's been an issue for years. After giving Christopher Morel a chance to lock down the hot corner this spring only to watch him struggle on both sides of the ball, Hoyer had to make a change.

That change wound up with Morel, a beloved fan favorite, going to Tampa Bay along with a pair of pitching prospects, in exchange for Paredes. It's worth wondering if the Cubs could have pushed themselves into more of a 'buyer' mentality had they been able to make this move earlier, but the Rays were also one of those 'on the fence' clubs leading up to the deadline.

According to Hoyer, Chicago loved Morel's upside - but couldn't pass up bringing defensive stability and consistent power at the plate into the fold long-term. Paredes is under team control through 2027 and, at least for the time being, ends the mixing and matching approach Craig Counsell has had to take at the position in his first year at the helm.

Adding Paredes gives the Cubs another 'plus' bat - and above-average piece on the roster. But the team's glaring need remains the same: an elite offensive performer, a superstar you can build around. The hope is Hoyer finds a way to check that box this winter, but his recent comments aren't exactly encouraging.