Cubs’ Jed Hoyer preaches patience on big trades, but has team in position to strike

Currently two and a half games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs have ridden a strong start to the 2026 campaign to the top of the NL Central. The Cubs’ current seven-game winning streak has helped them claim the mountaintop, at least for the moment. On Wednesday night, the Cubs will look to finish off their second straight sweep, this time over their division rivals, the Cincinnati Reds. As the team looks to extend the streak to eight, Chicago’s president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, spoke to the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney about improving the pitching staff. Mooney passed along Hoyer’s focus on the rotation and bullpen.

“It’s going to be a summer of working through our internal guys, but external is going to be a real thing as we go on,” Hoyer relayed to Mooney. “It’s also May, and it takes a while for those things to happen. We’ve been looking really consistently for small transactions, but anything bigger is going to have to wait. We’re going to have to get healthy and handle those things internally.”

Sophomore starter Cade Horton is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery. Lefty Justin Steele, who received elbow surgery last year, recently suffered a setback that will keep him sidelined until at least the All-Star break. Seven relievers, including Porter Hodge and Hunter Harvey, are also on the IL.

With injuries mounting, Hoyer’s comments make sense. The Cubs will need to see what they have internally first. Despite losing Horton and Steele, the starting rotation is still five deep, with Colin Rea once again stepping in on the backend. Ben Brown has become a bullpen stalwart in the wake of the rash of relief injuries. Daniel Palencia is still locked in with the ninth inning. As the MLB trade deadline approaches, which path will Hoyer take? And if he does elect to bring in a couple more arms via trade, how much will it take from a rebuilding Chicago farm system?

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