MLB trade rumors: Who will be Cubs’ top targets at July deadline?

With the All-Star break coming to a close and the MLB draft wrapped up, all focus will turn to the next milestone: The July 31 trade deadline.

[MORE: Jed Hoyer outlines Cubs’ plans to bolster roster ahead of MLB trade deadline]

In each of the past two seasons, the Cubs entered that territory teetering just under .500, with their prospects as buyers hanging in the balance.

Last year, they were 47-51 ahead of the Midsummer Classic. Making a move to buy at the deadline was very much a will-they-won’t-they situation. It nevertheless culminated in the Christopher Morel-Isaac Paredes deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that the Cubs would eventually flip into acquiring Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros in the offseason.

This year, it’s far simpler.

At 57-39, the Cubs lead the NL Central — albeit by one game over the surging Milwaukee Brewers — and they have the second-best record in the National League right behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s messaging has been clear: The Cubs are looking to acquire both game-changers and bench depth.

With Justin Steele out for the season and Jameson Taillon sidelined for at least several weeks, the Cubs’ priority will likely be a starting pitcher. Bullpen depth will follow, as will an experienced power bat at third base, given Matt Shaw and the bench platoon’s struggles this season.

[MORE: Jed Hoyer details Cubs’ potential search for right-handed hitting help]

There’s a plethora of options that fit the Cubs’ needs, so we put together a master list of those potential trade targets:

Top targets, if available

SP Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
2025 stats: 7.22 ERA, 91.0 IP, 71 K, 1.48 WHIP

Don’t let the numbers fool you — there’s a reason the Cubs are among many teams interested in the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner.

The 29-year-old right-hander missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery, so, naturally, he’s still working to find his form again. But, Alcantara is also pitching in front of a Marlins defense that is bottom-10 in MLB in defensive runs saved. If he had a league-average defense behind him, metrics show his ERA would be nearly three whole points lower at 4.59.

Enter the Cubs, whose team defense ranks top three in MLB. There’s good reason to believe that Alcantara would benefit greatly from a middle infield made up of Gold Glovers in Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner and the league’s leading outfielder in Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Alcantara’s relatively affordable contract — $17.3 million in 2026 with a $21 million club option in 2027– makes him that much more enticing for Hoyer and the Cubs to pounce on if they believe he’ll thrive on the North Side.

SP Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
2025 stats: 2.72 ERA, 109.1 IP, 121 K, 0.91 WHIP

Landing the 2025 All-Star righty would be a slam dunk for the Cubs. However, it’s not yet known how open the Twins are to letting go of Ryan, who is signed through this season and will be a free agent after 2027.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported on July 9 that Minnesota would both need to be “out of the AL postseason picture” and “completely overwhelmed by an offer” for a deal to materialize.

The Twins are currently 47-49 and four games out of the third AL Wild-Card spot entering the second half. Should a skid happen and they decide to sell, the Cubs do have an enticing crop of prospects on hand to offer.

SP Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 stats: 3.48 ERA, 119.0 IP, 92 K, 1.14 WHIP
Contract: 5 years, $77 million (2024-28, free agent 2029)

SP Mackenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
2025 stats: 3.02 ERA, 110.1 IP, 138 K, 1.20 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $2.89 million (arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2028)

With Keller and Gore, it’s not clear whether either will be dealt. They are valuable assets and since they are under team control for several more seasons, the Pirates and Nationals may not be inclined to trade them this month.

Even if either player is made available, what will the price be? The Pirates likely won’t be motivated to trade Keller to a divisional rival, and Gore is a 26-year-old having an All-Star season. The cost for either may well be out of the Cubs’ range.

SP Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
2025 stats: 2.52 ERA, 89.1 IP, 114 K, 1.16 WHIP

In June, MLB insider Jon Heyman suggested Sale could be a target of Hoyer’s.

“We’re not likely going to see an ace traded, but it’s worth dreaming to think about potentially Chris Sale or Freddy Peralta being traded, although I don’t think Peralta will get traded to the Cubs,” Heyman said on 670 The Score.

In his second season with Atlanta, the veteran Sale was pitching lights-out before landing on the 60-day IL with a fractured left rib he suffered in his start on June 18. He won’t be activated until after August 19.

While the Braves are just 42-53 and 9.5 games out of the NL Wild Card race, GM Alex Anthopoulos was firm last month in his desire to keep Sale where he is.

The 36-year-old Sale is on the back half of a two-year, $38 million deal with a 2026 club option.

It’s rare to see players traded who are on the IL, but it has happened before.

SP Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers
2025 stats: 2.32 ERA, 112.1 IP, 113 K, 0.91 WHIP
Contract: 5 years, $185 million (2023-27, club option 2028)

SP Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 stats: 3.34 ERA, 116.0 IP, 113 K, 1.05 WHIP
Contract: 3 years, $24 million (2023-25, free agent 2026)

SP Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 stats: 5.40 ERA, 115.0 IP, 110 SO, 1.37 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $13.5 million (free agent 2026)

RP Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
2025 stats: 2.91 ERA, 20 SV, 43.1 IP, 42 K
Contract: 5 years, $20 million (2022-26, club options 2027-28)

RP Felix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles
2025 stats: 2.41 ERA, 18 SV, 33.2 IP, 48 K
Contract: 2 years, $2 million (2024-25, arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2028)

The same questions apply to these five arms. The Orioles will be sellers, but the Diamondbacks (5.5 games), Rangers (3.5 games) and Guardians (4.5 games) are still within reach of a playoff spot.

Gallen and Kelly are set to be free agents, so they may be on the move. But the other arms are still under team control and their respective clubs may want to keep them around to make a playoff run in 2026 or beyond.

If the playoffs started today, the Cubs would have home-field advantage in the NLDS 👀

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 17, 2025 Realistic starting pitcher options

Adrian Houser, Chicago White Sox
2025 stats: 1.56 ERA, 57.2 IP, 39 K, 1.13 WHIP

The White Sox appear to have found a diamond in the rough with Houser, whom they signed to a one-year, $958k deal on May 20 after the Texas Rangers released the 32-year-old right-hander.

Houser has pitched like a bona fide ace since his first start on the South Side. Four of his nine starts have been scoreless outings, and he hasn’t pitched fewer than five innings in an outing.

The 32-65 White Sox could certainly be persuaded by the talent in the Cubs’ farm system to make a deal. The crosstown rivals did something similar in 2017, when the Cubs bolstered their rotation with Jose Quintana in exchange for four prospects, including Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease.

Charlie Morton, Baltimore Orioles
2025 stats: 5.18 ERA, 83.1 IP, 88 K, 1.52 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $15 million

Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins
2025 stats: 3.61 ERA, 82.1 IP, 86 K, 1.26 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $1.95 million (arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2029)

Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels
2025 stats: 3.11 ERA, 113.0 IP, 115 K, 1.37 WHIP
Contract: 3 years, $63 million (2025-27, free agent 2028)

German Marquez, Colorado Rockies
2025 stats: 5.57 ERA, 95.1 IP, 71 K, 1.60 WHIP
Contract: 2 years, $20 million (2024-25, free agent 2026)

Zach Eflin, Baltimore Orioles
2025 stats: 5.95 ERA, 62.0 IP, 42 K, 1.44 WHIP
Contract: 3 years, $41 million (2023-25, free agent 2026)

Luis Severino, Athletics
2025 stats: 5.16 ERA, 113.1 IP, 81 K, 1.41 WHIP
Contract: 3 years, $67 million (2025-26, player option 2027)

A bulk of this group should be dealt at the deadline, and the cost for any of the arms listed should not be exorbitant.

Bullpen options

David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 stats: 2.53 ERA, 13 SV, 32.0 IP, 45 K, 1.13 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $5.9 million (arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2027)

Brad Lord, Washington Nationals
2025 stats: 3.46 ERA, 65.0 IP, 56 K, 1.25 WHIP

Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 stats: 1.56 ERA, 5 SV, 40.1 IP, 29 K
Contract: 1 year, $1.4 million (arbitration eligible 2026, free agent 2027)

Jimmy Herget, Colorado Rockies
2025 stats: 2.94 ERA, 49.0 IP, 40 K, 1.39 WHIP
Contract: 1 year, $850k (arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2028)

Here are four other relievers who could be available on the market as the Cubs look to add “out-getters” at the deadline. Bednar would be the most intriguing of this group, but the same logic applies with him and teammate Santana as it does with Keller: Will the Pirates want to strike a big deal within the division?

Third base options

Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 stats: .250/.320/.569 (.889 OPS), 31 HR, 78 RBI

With the struggling Diamondbacks almost certain to deal Suárez, the Cubs will be in tight competition to land the deadline’s best available bat — but they’d love to have the Cub killer himself (36 home runs and 94 RBI in 132 career games against the Cubs) on their side for once.

The 33-year-old Suárez is in the final season of an eight-year, $79 million deal.

The Cubs haven’t had a viable option at third base for the majority of the season. Matt Shaw went 14-for-39 (.359) to begin his second big-league stint in May, but he has struggled to match anything close to that production since. Shaw is just 1-for-27 in July (.037), and his average has now dipped below .200 with two home runs and a .556 OPS in 63 games this year.

Suárez would be a massive upgrade for the Cubs at this stage of the year, but the question remains as to whether teams like the Yankees, Mariners or Mets will make more convincing offers. It’s also no guarantee he will be dealt.

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen did suggest that his team is on the hunt for young, controllable pitching — and the Cubs boast the fast-climbing Jaxon Wiggins as their top pitching prospect.

Willi Castro, Minnesota Twins
2025 stats: .265/.356/.435 (.791 OPS), 9 HR, 24 RBI
Contract: 1 year, $6.4 million

Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals
2025 stats: .297/.354/.454 (.808 OPS), 8 HR, 40 RBI
Contract: 1 year, $774.8 K (arbitration-eligible 2026, free agent 2030)

Yoan Moncada, Los Angeles Angels
2025 stats: .231/.326/.479 (.805 OPS), 7 HR, 21 RBI
Contract: 1 year, $5 million

These three players would not represent the big splash that Suárez would be, but they would all be clear upgrades for the Cubs at third base.