Cubs get busy at trade deadline, adding Holmes, Zeferjahn and more

The Cubs’ search for starting pitching has landed them two veterans with postseason experience.

The Cubs acquired right-handed starters Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, left-hander Braxton Garrett and right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn. They also picked up outfielder Tyrone Taylor in the Holmes transaction.

“It was very clear we needed to add pitching,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said after the trade deadline. “The position player group has been excellent all year. I think the pitchers have fought through a lot of injuries and been really resilient. But we wanted to add reinforcements and we certainly did that.”

But all the trade activity came at a price — the Cubs let go of a hefty prospect haul before Monday’s deadline.

“We traded good prospects, but ultimately one of our focuses was trading from areas of depth and some surplus,” Hoyer said. “And we did that.”

RHP Kevin Gausman

Late Sunday, the Cubs announced the acquisition of Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for two minor leaguers, outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene.

Gausman, 35, gives the Cubs a proven big-league starter, even amid a slightly down year in Toronto. In 23 starts this season, Gausman owns a 4.38 ERA and 102 ERA+ over 127 [1/3] innings. He’s in the final year of the five-year, $110 million deal he signed with the Blue Jays. In his last start with the Blue Jays on Saturday, Gausman held the St. Louis Cardinals to one run on nine hits in 5 [2/3] innings.

If Gausman pitches on normal rest, he would be lined up to face his former team Thursday in the Blue Jays’ makeup game at Wrigley Field. That game was postponed due to weather on June 21.

The Cubs are banking on Gausman’s track record as a two-time All-Star with a 3.34 ERA and 124 ERA+ in his previous five seasons. They’re also getting a veteran with postseason experience as they look to make a deeper October run. He’s pitched in the playoffs in four of the last five years and made six postseason appearances last year for the Blue Jays (10 earned runs in 30 [2/3] innings).

The Cubs and Blue Jays had teamed up earlier Sunday to send right-hander Jameson Taillon, who had been designated for assignment, to Toronto for cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Bateman, an eighth-round draft pick in 2023, has thrived in his first season at Triple A. The 24-year-old center fielder, rated the team’s No. 21 prospect by MLB Pipeline, posted a .312/.431/.422 slash line in 81 games for Iowa with 23 extra-base hits, 20 stolen bases and 33 RBIs. Bateman didn’t have a path to the majors this season given the Cubs’ depth at the position.

Southisene, ranked No. 13 in the Cubs’ system by MLB Pipeline, joined the organization as a fourth-round draft pick in 2024. He’s shown great plate discipline at High-A South Bend this season with a .459 on-base percentage. But Southisene, 21, doesn’t possess great pop; the middle infielder has yet to hit a home run through 156 games in his professional career.

RHP Clay Holmes and OF Tyrone Taylor

On Monday, the Cubs reached a deal with the New York Mets to send Holmes and Taylor to Chicago.

In return, the Mets received infielder Jefferson Rojas, the No. 2 prospect in the Cubs organization by MLB Pipeline.

Holmes is currently on the 60-day injured list but has been on a rehab assignment and is on the verge of returning from the right fibula fracture he sustained from a comebacker on May 15. He had been stellar for the Mets otherwise, owning a 2.39 ERA in nine starts. Since moving to the rotation for the first time in his big-league career prior to last season with the Mets, Holmes has a 3.26 ERA and 127 ERA+ over 218 [1/3] innings.

The Cubs and Mets had teamed up in June for a deal that brought right-handed starter David Peterson into the Cubs rotation, and he has benefited from pitching with the game’s best defense behind him. Holmes and his high groundball rate should also benefit from the elite group.

The 33-year-old holds a $12 million player option for 2027, which Holmes will likely decline to pursue a multi-year contract in free agency.

Taylor gives the Cubs a right-handed bench bat, and he can handle all three outfield spots. He spent parts of five seasons (2019-23) playing for manager Craig Counsell in Milwaukee. In 67 games for the Mets, Taylor hit 10 home runs while batting .241 with a .290 on-base percentage, .794 OPS and 116 OPS+.

The Cubs paid a high price to acquire Holmes and Taylor in essentially a move for rentals. Rojas impressed in big-league camp this spring, particularly his power. Rojas, 21, posted a .270/.339/.461 slash line with 15 home runs — already a career high — and 19 doubles at Double-A Knoxville this season.

In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs designated left-hander Luke Little for assignment. Little pitched one major-league inning for the Cubs this season and had a career 2.93 ERA in 40 games (one start) with the team since 2023.

RHP Ryan Zeferjahn

Also on Monday, the Cubs acquired Los Angeles Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, bringing in one of the better cost-controllable arms to a bullpen that needs more high-leverage relievers.

This move also required quite a return, sending former top prospect Moisès Ballesteros and pitching prospect Mason McGwire to the Angels.

Zeferjahn, 28, is under team control through 2030. The right-hander has a 3.66 ERA and 112 ERA+ in 45 games with four saves. He brings a 33.6% strikeout rate to a Cubs bullpen that needs more whiff.

Ballesteros impressed during his first big-league experience in 2025, performing well enough for inclusion on the Cubs’ postseason rosters. The 22-year-old designated hitter/catcher made the Cubs’ opening day roster but was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in mid-June after prolonged struggles. Ballesteros hadn’t been able to get on track at Iowa, hitting .231 with a .303 on-base percentage and .688 OPS since his demotion.

McGwire, a prospect who has risen in the Cubs’ system, has a 4.40 ERA between Single A and High A this season. He represented the Cubs in the MLB Futures Game in July. McGwire is the son of legendary slugger Mark McGwire.

LHP Braxton Garrett

The Cubs acquired left-hander Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. The return was two minor-league prospects, first baseman Jonathon Long and right-hander Jace Beck.

Garrett has spent most of this season with Miami’s Triple-A team, where the 28-year-old posted a 2.90 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). In two big-league starts for the Marlins, he allowed seven runs in 4 [1/3] innings. Garrett, who missed all of the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery, is under team control through 2028. He has a career 4.16 ERA through parts of six big-league seasons, largely as a starter.

Long, the Cubs’ No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, didn’t have a clear path to the majors with the Cubs. The 24-year-old was hitting .283 with a .364 on-base percentage and .818 OPS in 99 games for Triple-A Iowa. He was a ninth-round draft selection of the Cubs in 2023.

Beck, 26, has spent most of the season at Double-A Knoxville, where he had a 2.87 ERA in 20 games (six starts) and struggled after getting the bump to Iowa, posting a 6.60 ERA in five games (three starts). The Cubs had signed him as a free agent in November 2025 to a minor-league contract.