Ridiculous proposed Cubs-Phillies trade would be Jed Hoyer's dumbest move yet

I'm not saying the Chicago Cubs won't trade Seiya Suzuki this summer. If Jed Hoyer is forced into a seller's position, anyone on an expiring contract is fair game. But when I saw this specific trade proposal on X, I couldn't pass up bringing it under the spotlight, center stage.

Chicago sportswriter George Ofman put this question to the universe (and was pretty immediately and universally criticized for it: the Cubs send Suzuki to the Philadelphia Phillies, who lost outfielder Adolis Garcia for the year this week, in exchange for former All-Star pitcher Aaron Nola.

Yeah, that's gonna be a 'no' from me, boss.

New Aaron Nola - Seiya Suzuki trade idea is absolutely ridiculous

If I'm betting on one of the two turning their respective seasons around, my money's on Suzuki. Nola has looked like a shell of his former self the last two years (-0.1 bWAR, 5.96 ERA in 165 innings since the start of the 2025 season) and would do nothing to solidify the Cubs' already-shaky starting rotation.

Jed Hoyer doesn't need to make a trade to get below-average contributions in that department: Colin Rea, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Edward Cabrera are all negative-bWAR players this year - so why would Chicago trade for Nola?

Simple. They wouldn't. Throw in the fact that the former LSU standout still has four years and roughly $100 million left on his latest deal and you can lay this one to rest right now.

As for Suzuki, it seems he thankfully avoided anything serious when he tweaked his knee this week, and he's showing signs of finding his stroke. Over the last two weeks, he's slashing .368/.467/.632 - and getting him going is a 'must' if the Cubs are going to start stacking wins and get their season back on track.

His overall numbers on the year - like so many Cubs hitters - aren't quite where you want to see them, but he's still a solidly above-average hitter. If Suzuki starts finding his power stroke, we could soon see the guy who was a middle-of-the-order presence for the team last year. If he can do that, Hoyer could be able to get something decent for him (if they sell), and shouldn't settle for an aging pitcher on a bad contract.

Five years ago? Nola was a coveted pitcher. But those days appear to be behind him and the Cubs need to steer clear of adding any dead weight to the roster heading into the second half and beyond.

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