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Braves send: 3B Jackson Tressell (R-Danville) SP Dan Villari (A-Rome) Cubs send: 3B Jake Burger (MLB) While this package is not quite as large as some of our previous ones, Burger is also one of the older players we dealt whose track record is still on the upward trajectory but not quite as established as the Copelands and Garcias of the world. Plus, after all the quantity we've picked up until this point, it's okay for us to focus on a bit more quality. Tressell - 19 years old, 60-grade contact, in a system that is void of any true stud first base prospects. He's rocking a .333/.400/.431 so far this season and is one of the better young players in the Braves system by my estimation. In Dan Villari, we've got a 22 year old SP who, unlike some of the other SP prospects we've been excited to acquire this year, our scout actually things can make a big league rotation. His strikeout to walk numbers are looking pretty and after we do some promoting across the system tonight, he should slide into a newly free rotation spot just fine. And so - just as the White Sox have bid farewell to the real Jake Burger this afternoon - we bid farewell to ours. He's long been one of my favorite prospects, a 2017 second rounder and 2021 #7 overall OSA prospect that has been a long time coming. He's got 4 WAR in the majors and has continued to get better. I genuinely hope he and the Braves take down the AL this playoffs. Thanks Braves - Brenton to confirm.

Cubs send: P Marcus Galindo (AAA) Red Sox send: P Riku Goto (to be promoted from International Complex) A few months later and we finally get our man. Goto is a young pitcher who will look to keep the ball in the park in our low minors. Galindo has a solid scouting report, and has been great in the Iowa ‘pen until a recent 4 ER outing screwed up his ERA, but we’ve never quite had the space for him in the rotation so we move him to an org that might. Thanks Brenton, BOS to confirm.

Updated - Brett to confirm. Thanks all!

Cubs send: CL Alex Ramirez (100% retention) OF Earl James (MLB) Red Sox send: CF Sammy Siani (AA Portland) 2B Zack Raabe (A Greenville) SP Jackson Baumeister (A Greenville) Our beloved closer finally finds a new home. Alex Ramirez has strung together some great outings with a few not-so-great outing this year, but we feel like his true talent is still top-tier and genuinely hope the change of scenery puts Ramirez back in the thick of some exciting ballgames with positive results. Some pundits may scoff at the lack of money savings for us involved in this deal... the only opportunity that has presented itself to use potential budget room this year that we've skipped out on involved us adding $15M to our 2024 books (which is something we don't want to do), or taking a short-term bat back in this deal that would deny some of our young pieces playing time. So, we retain and add more good prospects to our pool. The Cubs have identified just 13 of 75 non-RP starting positions in the minors where we could still use an upgrade, so our deals from here on out are focussed on improving those positions where we still need help. Sammy Siani is a rare "already on the 40 man" guy we are getting back. He's just 22 years old, but represents some of the best true center field defense we have seen in our high minors (or even majors). He's a smart baserunner with a solid contact bat who can track down fly balls and won't make mistakes. He represents an upgrade and youth-infusion over Earl James, 28 year old corner outfielder who we also send to Boston to try and help cover the recent Cleveland injury. Siani may go to AAA for now, but will likely be in the majors before long. We need a better 2B on Myrtle Beach and Zack Raabe will do nicely. He's struggling a bit in his sophomore season but the 2022 2nd round pick will come around. He shouldn't strike out much, which isn't necessarily the case for some of the power bats we've recently acquired, and if/when he makes the majors this contact ability will play into that lineup nicely. Finally, Jackson Baumeister. Every trade needs a wild card. There's a chance that Jackson doesn't quite crack a rotation of ours in the minors as most of our teams are full up with 6 current and future studs. We need to figure out who is being promoted for Alex Ramirez's spot, so there may be an opportunity that I'm not realizing and Baumeister could be starting again before long. The 2021 fourth rounder throws straight and wild right now, but he's only 20 and man, the potential on the fastball, curveball, and changeup has our scouts drooling. He's striking out 11.8 per nine and has just a 1.6 BB/9 in A-ball this year, so the stats themselves are saying he can handle things, even if the report leaves something to be desired. We're excited to see where he slots into our organizational plan. Although this deal initially featured Riku Goto, three things happened since our initial handshake agreement last night: 1) it was pointed out to us that Goto is too new to the Red Sox organization to be traded, 2) Sammy Siani is a little more coveted than I initially thought as a few teams chimed in saying what a great player he was, and 3) I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in theaters (unrelated, but pretty cool). Now that we realize Siani has more trade value than we initially intended, we are still good moving forward with this deal without Goto. Thanks Brett for the deal - Boston to confirm.

Cubs send: SP Julio Urias (MLB) $1.5 million cash considerations Giants send: RF Joshua Baez (R Scottsdale) CF Zachary Evans (A+ San Jose) SP Kevin Singleton (R Scottsdale) SP Nick Bitsko (A Augusta) 2B Mason Imrie (R Scottsdale) We picked up Urias in peak pandemic for an aging RP and an OF prospect, and today use him to acquire yet another 5-deep prospect haul of the first stage of the rebuild. Following this trade, I can safely say we have a position player we like at nearly every lineup spot in the minors and a promising starting pitcher at every single rotation spot in the minors - something I without a doubt could not say on Opening Day this year. Let's dive into this package's specifics: Like the Baez we employed a few seasons back, Joshua brings big power and potentially big strikeouts to the table. He's just 19 and also features a nice cannon for a corner outfield spot. He's walking nearly as much as he's striking out this season, and if that continues we could see an updated scouting report before long. Slightly more developed, Zachary Evans looks like all of the good parts of Byron Buxton while hopefully addressing the bad (aka, the offense). After we get beyond the "acquire interesting guys in bulk" stage of our rebuild, we'll work towards targeting players that fit well in our ballpark. Evans coincidentally works well for that too. Outfield range is going to be incredibly important on defense for us, and Evans brings that in spades, along with plenty of speed and who projects to be a league-average or better bat. Kevin Singleton can do what only two other starting pitchers in our entire organization can do - and that is hit 100 mph on the gun. 70 grade fastball, a curveball that isn't far behind, and the stats say he's already addressing his walk rate as a young 21 year old pitcher, cutting them almost in half from 2021 to 2022. Nick Bitsko doesn't throw quite as fast, but his scouting report is also a little more fleshed out. As I've mentioned so many times before, a majority of the players I acquire I try to balance both sides of this coin, but Bitsko is a situation of trusting the scouting report. This 20 year old righty should be much better than nearly an 8.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in AA. How much better remains to be seen, but I'm certain it will be better. The final player is another teenager - one who batted over .500 in high school just a year ago, in fact. Last year's Giants' fifth round pick, Mason Imrie, is a 19 year old 2B with good contact potential. He doesn't do much else right now, but he doesn't need to. More tools will likely come. Now we've got five new toys, and another young starting pitcher can make their major league debut next week. Thanks John - treat my boy Urias well!

Cubs accept. Chicago would like to thank Ed Harris for nearly five seasons of amazing play on the North Side. We seem to make a habit of trading our beloved faces of the franchise to Seattle as this deal comes five years and four months after Starlin Castro headed West. In return, we continue our habit of acquiring five prospects we are excited about. 3B Jacob Berry just turned 22 and has been killing it at High-A this year to the tune of nearly 1 WAR in his first ten games. Berry brings big switch-hitting power (65 grade), and if he can keep the strikeouts down he'll be a force to be reckoned with down the road. Cooper Kinney, 20 year old 2B, is a great contact bat from Baylor. His defense will take some growing into but the bat is solid. Left field power doesn't play great at Wrigley, but it's the high potential batting average here we truly like. We have our catcher of the future already in Brock Bowers - but never hurts to have another option, right? The #66 prospect in the minors, Garrett Klatt has great pop and put together a strong Rookie campaign in 2022 (.292/.414/.453). We're already pretty deep in the outfield, but when looking at the potential prospects on the table in this deal, we decided to continue to strengthen our outfield depth adding Seattle's first rounder from last season. At just 19, he's got a ton of room to grow and won't be pressing the 40 man roster for years. SP Carter Baumler is the final piece of this deal - and the biggest wild card, to be honest. He's made it to AA and has a great fastball/slider combo. I'm nervous about the movement of his pitches but we'll just have to see what happens! The forgettable Billy Koch fills out the rest of the deal. Thanks Kaiser - good luck!

Cubs accept. This is a pretty straightforward swap. Both Duran and Kochanowicz pitched well last season but have been struggling early in 2023. Duran is a relief pitcher who is three years older and will be entering arbitration; Kochanowicz is a starter who will spend the rest of the season auditioning for a Cubs 40-man spot. We’ll take that swap as the first month of our rebuild continues. Thanks Brenton!

Cubs send: CF Byron Buxton (70% of contract retained) Blue Jays send: CF Chris Burnett (MLB) CL Billy Lawler (A+ Dundin) The main swap here is Byron Buxton for 22 year old relief pitcher Billy Lawler. For my big pieces like Urias and Lux and Harris, I'm looking for 4-to-5 solid prospects in return. For my more complimentary pieces like Tomas Arteaga, Jason Hatfield, and of course, Byron Buxton, a nice 1-for-1 will get the job done. Lawler's got great stuff, touches 97 on the gun, and a 70-grade curveball. He was freshly drafted in 2022 so despite being a bit of an older prospect he has lots of team control and room to develop left. The walks are higher than you'd like to see but if he develops that, Lawler has a real shot to be a solid piece of a big league bullpen. I think that's a nice return for a defense-first outfielder. Chris Burnett returns to the Cubs to help make the money work for Toronto. He just turned 28 this season, and has a scouting profile that excels in just about everything except for raw power. Perhaps he can work out his kinks and become a similar trade piece down the line for Chicago. Thanks Mitch, Toronto to confirm.

The Cubs have been wheelin' and dealin' the past few weeks, and the fun doesn't stop here. Following the Arizona Diamondbacks' acquisition of Orlando Garcia, another NL West competitor has made a counter-move after stopping at the Cubs' rummage sale. Without further ado... Rockies send: 2B Tony Arnold (R Grand Junction) Cubs send: RF Carson Peters (A South Bend) Okay, maybe we had a little too much fun teasing this one. As the Cubs are taking an added interest in the makeup of their minor league rosters and making sure their most important prospects are healthy and getting ample playing time, we noticed in the 21-ish year old talent pool that all of our backups were outfielders. Like, literally I think in Single-A right now we have a right fielder backing up the shortstop position. While Arnold isn't going to light the world on fire, this move helps us get two years younger and more positionally diverse in the minors by swapping out an outfielder for an infielder. Thanks Carson - Rockies to confirm.

Cubs send: 1B Yordan Alvarez (MLB - 100% salary retention) Pirates send: CF Druw Jones (R Bradenton) SS Noelvi Marte (A West Virginia) 3B Coby Mayo (A+ Bradenton) SP Harrison Bailey (AA Altoona) SP Jordan Hudson (A West Virginia) The Cubs move on from one of their best players, and in return, continue to stock up in the lower levels of the minors with a quintet of prospects from the Pirates. At just 19, Druw Jones is probably the top guy we are getting back. A former first round pick, he projects for plus power and a high average, but we also really love what his potential defense can bring to the Friendly Confines. As we are finally paying attention to our park factors, we know that outfield defense (specifically range) is going to be incredibly important for when we're ready to be successful. Jones is already rated at a 70 for OF range, and has great speed to boot. We think he can be a dynamic player on both sides of the ball. Noelvi Marte is the second Top 100 prospect we bring back in the deal. He's a bit of an enigma, to be honest. I don't know if he'll end up as a true shortstop but he's got flexibility to rotate around the diamond. The scouting report is really nice - but he has yet to really translate that to anything on the field, batting below the Mendoza line in a number of two-week stops at different levels. As we've mentioned before, we're really trying to take stats and scouting into account with the players we are getting back, and this is an example of leaning on the report from Wade Davis a little bit more. He's been given $27 million to specifically scout existing minor league players so we hope it pans out. Hopefully some stability for the 21 year old staying with one team for the rest of the year after this trade will do him good. Much of the strength of the existing Cubs farm system, and the first few deals we brought back so far, has been in the outfield. When we did our minors purge a few days back, we cut a ton of outfielders that were worse than the ones we've earmarked for the future, and there were a bunch more infielders we wanted to cut, except we didn't have anyone to replace them. That's part of the reason we're excited to bring back 21 year old Coby Mayo. He's got the best pop of all the players we're bringing back and he's got a cannon of an arm over at third base. Fans will soon replace Jake Burger with Coby Mayo when they dream of future stability from the Cubs in the hot corner. Plus, it keeps with the food theme. Minors pitching feels a lot better than it did weeks ago, but it's still good to get some pitchers back. Harrison Bailey is our favorite of the duo. Plus plus fastball, good slider, with enough control to boot. We'll have to evaluate exactly where he's going to play. He looks overmatched at AA, but perhaps it's good for him to experience a little adversity before he continues to improve. Hudson is our least favorite but we still really like him. He has a great cutter with exceptional movement and can hit 99 on the gun. Like Bailey, he's 20 years old. At that young age the control has a long way to develop, and will dictate if he truly is going to be a starting pitcher moving forward. You've got to take what you can get and we like this fifth piece to round out the deal coming back to the North Side. It is tough to say goodbye to Yordan Alvarez. We signed him at the tail end of an international scouting period because we screwed up the dates and he was the only one worth anything left. We promoted him, too early some might say, in 2020 because he looked quite ready. Since then, he's put up 11.1 WAR in a Cubs uniform, good for 6th place in the Jabs era behind Starlin Castro, David Wright, Anthony Rizzo, Ed Harris, and Jose Felix, and just ahead of Steve Winter. We wish him well with the Pirates. Thanks Hodges - good luck. Pittsburgh to confirm.

Cubs send: SP Ryan Copeland (100% salary retained) C Edgar Rodriguez (R-Mesa) Royals send: SP Pete Williams (AAA Omaha) RF Drew Sanders (AA Northwest Arkansas) C Brock Bowers (A+ Carolina) SP Mateo Rodriguez (A Lexington) And with that, our two rentals have new homes. The final offers for the Copeland sweepstakes were all quite close, but we like the four prospects we are getting back from Kansas City ever-so-slightly more than the others. The highlight of the deal for us is Mateo Rodriguez, a young 19 year old who has a lot of growing to do, but we love the potential. His first five starts at A-ball have been rough, but his Rookie campaign last season was much more positive. We see a power pitcher with great stuff and an awesome Slider who can grow into our staff well. The Cubs farm system has long been devoid of any catching prospects as we may have leaned on Jose Felix a little too long. Bowers instantly becomes one of the top prospects in our system. OSA has him at #3 overall in the league, which might be stretching it a bit, but we're still really excited. He's enjoy a fine start to his season and bring big power to accompany well-above average catcher ability. WIth more reps, he can be dangerous on both sides of the ball instead of just the defensive side. Drew Sanders brings a bit more experience to the trade. He's 21, but is already putting up an .850+ OPS at AA and could advance quickly. His defense leaves something to be desired but now that the Cubs have a DH in the National League, his bat could be bringing a high average to Wrigley Field before long. The final piece is Pete Williams, the only Rule 5 eligible piece we've picked up in trades thusfar. With every other prospect, we've tried to respect both the scouting report and the statistical output; Pete is the closest thing to a "we just love his report" we've added this year. Massive stuff, an incredible curveball, and 98 on the gun is tantalizing. 112 earned runs in less than 200 innings since being promoted to AA is not. He's just 22 though, so there's still time to figure it out. Thanks Rob for the patient negotiations - KC to confirm.

The Cubs see this move mainly as pending free agent Orlando Garcia for four young starting pitching prospects we really like. SP Carson Beck is nursing a small injury but we’re confident we can rehab him back to 100%. Beck is a young power pitcher who tops out at 98 who is suppressing runs this year even despite a high BABIP. SP Deuce Hogan has a similar makeup to Beck but relies more on a plus-plus fastball and a mix of other pitches. He’s a little younger and has struck out a ton of batters in his first six starts in A-ball. Both Beck and Hogan are just 21 years old and have a ceiling of a decent #2 starter or a really good #3 starter. The youngest of the bunch at 19, SP Travis Banks brings a roundball approach and a solid curveball. He’s still got a decent amount of development to do but we certainly think he has the makings of a rotation arm down the road. SP Kade Wells’ future is the hardest to project, but he’s a nice piece to follow in the minors and see what he can do. His minors numbers last year were good as he works to try and cut down on the walks. The other component of the trade is RP Orlando Dias for RP Tommy Doyle. Doyle was a high draft pick for us in a year when the class was famously meh. He’s a solid reliever, but he’s just that, a reliever. Orlando Dias is Tommy Doyle just a few years old but still a young 28. Dias was one of the best relievers in baseball last year, rocking a 1.96 ERA over 55 innings, with a 206 ERA+ and 10+ K/9. He’s struggling out of the gate this year but with a little more time to work on his ERA, he’ll be a nice chip for the Cubs down the road. Thanks Kimberly!

Cubs send: 3B Maximo Gonzalez (A+) White Sox send: CL Jack Hartman (A+) Cubs we’re doing some trimming and decided they preferred a hard-throwing reliever who performed well despite lackluster control we hope to develop. Thanks Greg - White Sox to confirm.

Cubs send: SP Kyle Brosnan (A-) SP Andre Pallante (A) SP Noah Murdock (A) SS Tim McMahon (R) White Sox send: CL Orlando Garcia (MLB) OF Byron Buxton (MLB) INF Billy Hamilton (AAA) The Cubs do not feel confident in free agency for the first offseason in forever, and we are happy to check a number of boxes on the major league team (which we believe has good pieces) in an effort to compete, cashing in a few chips, of course. Good luck on the South Side, Kyle. Thanks for the deal - Greg to confirm.

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