In Gausman, Holmes trades, Cubs reward rotation for grinding through '26

CHICAGO -- There were clear needs for the Cubs heading into Monday’s Trade Deadline, but there was another layer to the work done by the front office. In a way, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer wanted to repay the pitching staff for the work put in to date on the mound.

There have been a long list of injuries throughout this season impacting the rotation, but the group has held the line -- even when the depth was stripped extremely thin at times -- and kept the Cubs in the thick of the postseason picture. Consider bringing in two impact starters, Kevin Gausman from the Blue Jays and Clay Holmes from the Mets, a reward of sorts.

“This year, we had very clear goals just based on how the team has played,” Hoyer said ahead of Chicago's 10-5 win over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. “Certainly, the resilience this team has shown, I think, has been really special. I think we did things we felt like would honor that.”

The Cubs were able to reel in Gausman late Sunday night in exchange for a pair of prospects, and then pulled off a trade with the Mets before Monday’s 5 p.m. CT Deadline to land Holmes. In that second swap, Chicago also picked up outfielder Tyrone Taylor to boost the bench, sending highly touted infield prospect Jefferson Rojas to New York to complete the deal.

TRADE DETAILS

Cubs get: RHP Kevin Gausman
Blue Jays get: INF Ty Southisene, OF Brett Bateman

Cubs get: RHP Clay Holmes, OF Tyrone Taylor
Mets get: INF Jefferson Rojas

Beyond the trades to acquire that trio of players, the Cubs also added hard-throwing reliever Ryan Zeferjahn from the Angels to boost the bullpen, and brought in lefty Braxton Garrett (optioned to Triple-A Iowa) from the Marlins to strengthen the rotation’s depth chart.

“There’s some belief that’s shown in the group here,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “in what we can accomplish with the caliber of people that are coming here. And I think that fires everybody up, for sure. That part’s important.”

Hoyer acknowledged that the Cubs had conversations with the Tigers about ace Tarik Skubal, who was dealt to the Dodgers and will start against Chicago on Tuesday. The Cubs were “on everybody” available in the starting pitching market, per Hoyer. That included going after controllable arms, but Chicago “never got very close” on that front.

When the Blue Jays let the Cubs know by Saturday that Gausman was available, he became a clear target for Hoyer’s group. In fact, Hoyer said he tried for years early in Gausman’s career to acquire the pitcher.

“He was kind of a white whale type target for us, going way back,” Hoyer said.

Gausman brings a strong track record of consistency, including 56 1/3 postseason innings over the course of his career. That includes starting Game 2 and Game 6 in the World Series against the Dodgers last fall. Holmes has a 1.35 ERA in 20 playoff innings (all as a high-leverage reliever) during his earlier time with the Yankees. That includes five games against the Dodgers in the '24 World Series.

They will step into the rotation for the Cubs, who know Los Angeles will continue to be an obstacle on the path to the World Series this October.

“That’s the team you’ve got to beat, right?” Hoyer said. “Clearly, they’re going to be the favorites. They’ve won two times in a row. They’ve got the most talent in baseball. I don’t think there’s any question about that. It’s a great challenge for everybody.”

When Gausman arrives, Counsell said he will sit down with the veteran pitcher to discuss when he wants to make his debut with the North Siders. There is a scenario in which the right-hander takes the ball against the Blue Jays on Thursday at Wrigley Field in a makeup game from a June 21 rainout. Talk about drama.

As for Holmes, he is still on the 60-day injured list after a comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones on May 15 fractured his right fibula. With the Deadline looming, Holmes stayed in a Minor League rehab assignment on Sunday and logged 73 pitches in 5 1/3 innings with High-A Brooklyn. Hoyer said they will sit down with Holmes to determine his next step.

“We have to decide exactly how we want to play that,” Hoyer said. “I think we loved the fit from a [pitch] shape standpoint, and he’s a fantastic ground-ball guy, doesn’t give up home runs. Putting that kind of guy in front of this defense makes a ton of sense for us.”

The Cubs have already seen what can happen when pairing a ground-ball specialist with their defense, which leads the Majors with a 56 fielding run value. The D-backs rank second at 29 FRV, per Statcast. Chicago acquired lefty David Peterson from the Mets in June and he has turned the page on a tough start to his season with five strong starts (out of six) with the Cubs.

Hoyer pulled off the trade for Peterson after Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown both landed on the IL. At the time, Matthew Boyd had just returned from knee surgery and Jameson Taillon (traded to Toronto on Sunday) was also sidelined. This was after Cade Horton (runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year in '25) was lost for the year in April due to right elbow surgery. Lefty Justin Steele has also been on the IL all season long.

The group has stabilized recently with Boyd, Peterson, Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea and Javier Assad filling out the rotation. In July, the Cubs were tied for third in MLB when it came to rotation ERA (3.47), even amid the issues surrounding the staff.

“We’ve used so many different guys,” Hoyer said. “But certainly, providing more talent and more depth was something that was critical.”

When Holmes is activated, the two-time All-Star will return after posting a 2.39 ERA in nine starts for the Mets prior to the injury. Gausman has a 4.38 ERA, but all the underlying numbers are essentially in line with his career performance. And Gausman brings something that Counsell said goes beyond the statistics.

“It’s a very dependable, battle-tested guy,” Counsell said. “Nothing is really going to surprise him, shock him, scare him. He’s pitched in huge moments.”