The 2026 Trade Deadline Could Doom the Chicago Cubs For Years to Come

The Cubs traded Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene to the Toronto Blue Jays for Gausman. The team was desperate for pitching at the 2026 trade deadline and made aggressive moves after public pressure on Jed Hoyer.

Holmes was dominant in August with a 1.55 ERA over five starts but completely fell apart in September, posting an 8.24 ERA with an eye-popping 16.1% walk rate in 19.2 innings. He was so untrustworthy that manager Craig Counsell didn't use him in either Wild Card game against the Padres.

Jefferson Rojas was the Cubs' top prospect, a middle infielder who posted a .799 OPS with 15 home runs in 91 games before being traded to the Mets as part of the Clay Holmes deal. After joining the Mets system, Rojas went off, slashing .293/.346/.629 with 12 home runs in just 34 games, raising fears the Cubs gave away a future star.

Bateman made an immediate impact for the Blue Jays, hitting .329/.402/.424 with a 138 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR in 41 games. The 24-year-old outfielder's success stings Cubs fans especially since Chicago will have left field and right field open this offseason with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki both hitting free agency.

Ballesteros struggled to adjust to MLB pitching after a hot start, posting a .199/.260/.280 slash line with a 26% strikeout rate and poor defense at catcher in 45 games for the Angels. He is only 22 years old with a history of strong bat-to-ball skills, so the book isn't closed on him yet.