Hoyer ready to deal before deadline; but all-in on the ‘25 Cubs? Maybe not

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer took on plenty of questions about what could happen at the trade deadline later this month.

Ultimately, though, there are no answers. Not with 30 days to go. Hoyer said most teams are still trying to decide whether they are buyers or sellers.

The Cubs sold plenty of tickets, as usual, and another full house bought into the team's return to Wrigley Field, a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd made another bid for his first all-star selection. He completed 7 innings with 2 runs on 5 hits, lowering his season ERA to 2.65.

Boyd pitched for Cleveland at the end of last season after recovering from elbow surgery and threw well, prompting the Cubs to take a chance on the 34-year-old lefty in free-agency.

“I have so much respect for those guys, so much gratitude for the Cleveland organization,” Boyd said. “They not only gave me a shot, they even gave me the ball in the playoffs last year, three times. Just amazing people over there. It's always fun to go against friends in this game.”

Seiya Suzuki hit his 23rd home run, and the Cubs took control in the second inning with 4 straight hits against Guardians starter Gavin Williams, building a 3-0 lead. Carson Kelly had a nice night, with 2 hits and 3 RBI.

Maybe the most firm declaration made by Hoyer on Tuesday is he's not inclined to go all-in to load up the current roster for a World Series run.

“We have a really good team and we're really happy about that,” he said. “We also think we have the ability to be really good for a number of years, and so I think you're always weighing those things.

“I think in this job, that's one of the most difficult things to calibrate — the value of one year versus the value of other years. You're always trying to get that mix right.”

Hoyer confirmed the obvious: Boyd aside, the Cubs could stand to improve the starting rotation. Even with Shota Imanaga back from a hamstring strain and Javier Assad likely returning at some point later this month, there's always potential for more injuries.

“You never have enough pitching depth,” Hoyer said. “Listen, we've had a lot of conversations with teams, will continue to have a lot of conversations, but you know, these things ramp up.

“You have to take a little break at draft time, and then they ramp up again after that. So I think when it comes to acquiring depth, we're on the lookout, we're talking, but with the realization these things usually trend toward late July.”

It's probably a safe bet the White Sox will try to get a nice return for pitcher Adrian Houser before the deadline. But even Pittsburgh, with rumored Cubs interest in right-hander Mitch Keller, won its fifth straight on Tuesday. The Pirates could decide to sit tight.

Hoyer took questions about whether ownership is willing to spend on upgrades, with the potential Kyle Tucker massive contract extension looming.

“Financially, I'm comfortable that we'll be able to address the needs we need to address at the deadline,” he said. “That's not something I've really questioned or thought about at all.

“Obviously, this place is full almost every night and I think we'll have the resources to make moves we need to make at the deadline, with that I'm very confident.”

Do the Cubs have enough talent in the minors to make a deal that will help? One potential concern is while they have several top-100 position players, to get an established starter, they'll probably need to give back at least one young arm, and pitching depth in the minors is shallow.

“We're probably deeper with position players than pitchers,” Hoyer said. “I know we have the talent to make deals, there's no doubt about that. Ultimately, we have to figure out what the price is and what's available. We're just kind of early for that at this point.”

Hoyer mentioned he'd rather add players who will stay with the Cubs or multiple years, rather than rentals, guys who are heading into free-agency. There are exceptions. If the Cubs can upgrade at third base, Arizona's pending free agent Eugenio Suarez (.894 OPS) is a much better option than Colorado's Ryan McMahon (.716 OPS), with two more years left on his deal. Of course, the Diamondbacks are still within striking distance of a wild-card spot.

There's been talk about adding another quality right-handed bat, since most of the Cubs best hitters are lefty. The difference isn't all that great, though. The Cubs rank third in MLB in OPS against right-handed pitchers (.780), and sixth against lefties (.743). What they need is another hot streak from Dansby Swanson or Matt Shaw.

Before the game, manager Craig Counsell said Assad (oblique strain) was scheduled to throw his second bullpen session in Arizona on Tuesday. He added that catcher Miguel Amaya (oblique strain) won't be back until after the all-star break at the earliest.