How bad was the Cubs 2025 Trade Deadline?

I’m seeing several posts on Twitter calling the 2026 Trade deadline a bust after less than two weeks. Certainly, the early returns have not been great:

• One good start and one bad start from Kevin Gausman
• A bad start from Clay Holmes
• 3 runs allowed in 3 games form Ryan Zeferjahn
• A 41 wRC+ from Tyrone Taylor
• Braxton Garrett with 6 walks is his first start in Iowa

While these are certainly not the results the Cubs were expecting, I think it is extremely premature to make a determination that the trade deadline for the Cubs was a failure. If these trends continue, especially considering the prospects that the Cubs traded aways, it would be a failure. But there is plenty of season left for the players they acquired to move the needle in a positive direction.

One thing that is pretty clear is that the 2025 trade deadline was, for the most part, a bust. With the benefit of time, we can truly make some determinations about whether things worked out – which they really did not.

To be fair, the deadline strategy of the Cubs in 2025 was much less aggressive than what we saw this season. I wrote a whole post about where the prospects are that the Cubs gave up last year, and none were doing much. Here is an update on those players:

• Wilfri De La Cruz – 3B/SS – 18 years old – traded for Andrew Kittridge – In Complex League with Baltimore, slashing .221/.390/.317. Ranked as the Orioles #21 prospect by Fangraphs in May.
• Ronny Cruz – SS – 19 years old – traded for Michael Soroka – In A and A+ with Washington, slashing .238/.323/.384. He’s the #4 Nationals prospect according to Fangraphs.
• Christian Franklin – OF – 26 years old – traded for Michael Soroka – traded to Baltimore for Joe Glassey, a 25-year-old reliever. Franklin was in AAA for the Nationals, but was promoted to the majors after the trade, slashing .143/.333/.214 for the Orioles.
• Ivan Brethowr – OF- 23 years old – traded for Taylor Rogers – In A, A+ and AA for Pittsburgh, slashing.192/.330/.346.
• Sam Armstrong – P – 25 years old – traded for Willi Castro – In AA for Minnesota has a 4.72 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with a 19.0 K% and 9.2 BB%.
• Ryan Gallagher – P – 23 years old – traded for WIlli Castro – In AA and AAA for Minnesota and has a 5.27 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 24.2 K% and 10.6 BB%.

Not many exciting names in there, with Ronny Cruz appearing to be the only guy with real value.

Unfortunately, what the Cubs got in return were several rentals, most of whom did very little for the Cubs in 2025.

• Michael Soroka (-0.1 fWAR) – the biggest disappointment among the acquisitions. The Cubs really needed another starter, and Soroka provided that for a grand total of 2 innings. He then was on the IL from August 5th until September 15th, providing another 6.1 innings of relief over 5 games.
  
  He did appear in two postseason games in relief, getting 2 outs to finish the 3-0 loss in game 2 of the Wild Card Series. He then followed an extremely ineffective Matthew Boyd in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, giving up 3 runs in 1 inning of work.
  
  Criticisms of the Soroka trade did not just come in hindsight. Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic had noted that his velocity was way down in his last several starts with Washington.

Not the best of trends with the FB https://t.co/2GN8PeZevI pic.twitter.com/AsURTl0GFC

— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) July 31, 2025

But, the Cubs acquired him anyway, and he got injured in his first start. Jed Hoyer took responsibility for the bad gamble, as well he should have. But having another solid starter would have been very helpful for the playoffs, especially in Game 5 against the Brewers, when the Cubs went with Colin Rea.

Soroka has had a nice bounce-back year with the Diamondbacks, with a 2.92 ERA and 2.2 fWAR. He did lose 50 games due to an injury. But the bounce-back is meaningless for the Cubs

• Andrew Kittredge (0.6 fWAR) – HIs acquisition was actually very successful, as he entered the circle of trust in the late innings for the Cubs. Getting him was actually quite important with the injury to Daniel Palencia. HIs 3.32 ERA and 1.74 FIP were quite good, and he recorded 8 holds and 5 saves in 23 games.
  
  He had mixed results in the playoffs. When Brad Keller stumbled a bit in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, Kittredge got the last two outs to help the Cubs move on. However, in the NLDS, he gave up solo home runs in game 3 (which the Cubs held on to win) and in Game 5. The Game 5 home run by Bryce Turang in the 7th inning was a killer, increasing the deficit to 2 runs, which was too much to overcome in a pitcher’s duel.
  
  After the season, the Cubs had a club option on Kittredge for $9.1 million for 2026, which they were no eager to pay. However, the Orioles decided he was worth that much, and re-acquired him from the Cubs for “cash considerations”. It was ultimately not a bad move, as Kittredge only managed a 0.2 fWAR and 3.57 ERA, very expensive for a $9 million dollar reliever. Of course, his contribution has been better then the combined production of Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey, who have cost a combined $10.5 million in 2026.
  
• Willi Castro (-0.5 fWAR) – If Castro had done anything close to the 1.1 fWAR he provided the Twins in 2025, his acquisition would have made the trade deadline for the Cubs somewhat successful, even including Michael Soroka. He was supposed to be a Swiss-army knife, who could provide the Cubs with a bench guy who could play anywhere, and hit fairly well.
  
  But a meager slash-line of .170/.245/.240 and 40 wRC+ made Castro more of a lineup lead-weight instead of a Swiss army knife. From a fielding perspective he had a net of 0 DRS and -3 OAA. So not so great there, either.
  
  His postseason performance was almost non-existent, as he only appeared in two games – as a defensive replacement both times – and did not get a plate appearance.
  
• Taylor Rogers (-0.1 fWAR) – A lefty specialist, Rogers had an ERA over 5 with the Cubs in 17 appearances. He only record 1 hold in those 17 games, so he was not used in very high leverage situations.
  
  He got in one post-season game, pitching a clean inning in the 3-0 loss to San Diego.
  
  So, overall, the Cubs acquisitions ended up with a new of -0.1 fWAR, providing a less than replacement level in the last two months of the season. As these all turned out to be rental players, there was no net gain past 2025, meaning that the deadline move were ultimately a failure.
  
  However, there could be a counter-argument that getting Kittredge was so important, based on his contribution to the bullpen – and save in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series – that it was still a worthwhile deadline. Certainly, if Kittredge had been as bad as Castro or missed as much time as Soroka, the deadline would have been considered an absolute disaster. While I think his success absolutely mitigates the other failures, the deadline as a whole has to be viewed as a disappointment.
  
  As far as the 2026 deadline goes, the threshold for success is much higher. If we see similar production from the players acquired this season that we saw last year, it will have to be viewed as a total disaster – unless we see some major post-season heroics from the new guys. The Cubs gave up several players with much more upside than anyone who was traded in 2025. And while Zeferjahn and Garrett are controlled for a few more seasons, the other 3 players are rentals.
  
  But I am willing to wait until after the postseason to make any evaluations. The rest of Cubs fandom on social media will not.