MLB trade deadline: Cubs ‘thread the needle’ and make first surprising move of the deadline with Isaac Paredes acquisition
Negotiations are happening fast and furiously as the 2024 trade deadline approaches, and while the baseball world thought the buyers and sellers were pretty much set, there always seems to be one team looking to shake things up.
The Chicago Cubs made the first surprise move of the trade deadline on Sunday, acquiring All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for third baseman Christopher Morel, right-hander RHP Hunter Bigge and promising RHP Ty Johnson, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports.
It’s no secret that the Cubs have been disappointing this season. After entering the year as the undisputed favorite in the NL Central, Chicago is 51-56 and 10 games behind the first-place Brewers. Because of that, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has stated that the team would likely be a seller at the trade deadline.
“We probably won’t make a lot of changes that will only help us this year,” he told reporters last week.
At the time, it was seen as idle talk, but Hoyer also said the team was looking for additions for the future.
“If the changes help us in 2025 and beyond — I think we’re still exceptionally well positioned — I think that’s where our focus will be,” he said.
The phrase “threading the needle” is often overused by baseball executives, and the juggling act of short-term retooling and long-term improvement is extremely difficult to pull off, especially when those improvements come at the major league level. But the Cubs’ addition of Paredes — an All-Star this season with three seasons of club control remaining at a position of need as they build for 2025 and beyond — would definitely fall into the “threading the needle” category.
Paredes, 25, was signed by the Cubs out of Mexico in 2015. In 2017, he was traded to the Tigers along with Jeimer Candelario in exchange for catcher Alex Avila and left-hander Justin Wilson. He made his MLB debut with Detroit in 2020 and was traded to Tampa Bay after the 2021 season.
The Cubs have been searching for production at third base since trading Kris Bryant at the 2021 deadline. After a sustained lack of production from players like Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal and Morel, the acquisition of Paredes should give Chicago a solution at the hot corner for years to come.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay appears to be doing a makeover of its own, having traded starters Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin, reliever Jason Adam, left fielder Randy Arozarena and now Paredes. Acquiring Morel, who has plenty of tools, gives the Rays an offensive player with tools to work with. Despite slashing .199/.302/.373 this season, he has shown tremendous power potential, with 60 home runs since his debut in Chicago in 2022.
Over the past two weeks, the Rays have quietly assembled a good haul of prospects as they’ve traded away their roster. And with players like first baseman Yandy Diaz likely to be available as well, there could be more additions in the next 48 hours.
For both the Cubs and Rays, this feels like an old-school baseball trade. Chicago gets the third baseman and middle-of-the-order bat it coveted, while Tampa Bay continues to stockpile young talent as both teams look toward 2025.
When we look back on this deal a year from now, there’s a real possibility that both teams will be happy with their decisions.
