The Chicago Cubs had one of the more memorable trade deadlines of all 30 teams this season. But evidently, there were more irons in the fire.
Though the Cubs were fighting to stay out of last place at the time, they acted more like buyers than sellers. They brought in a big-league reliever in Nate Pearson and turned three assets into Isaac Paredes at third base, one of the biggest bats traded this July.
It's still a possibility the Cubs could make a last-ditch run at a Wild Card spot, but these moves were more about setting Chicago up for future success with the current roster they've spent the past few seasons building.
The biggest hole in that roster, however, was not addressed at the deadline. Based on the findings of one insider, that may have been due to the Cubs going big game hunting at a position of need.
According to a report from Sadahev Sharma, the Cubs beat reporter for The Athletic, general manager Jed Hoyer took a shot at landing one of the game's hottest young catchers at the trade deadline.
"Multiple league sources confirmed that Hoyer aggressively pursued the position and that Logan O’Hoppe, the Los Angeles Angels’ starting catcher, was one of his primary targets," Sharma said.
O'Hoppe, 24, is in the midst of a breakout year with the Halos. With a .755 OPS, 16 home runs, and 46 RBI, the second-year backstop ranks in the top six of nearly all offensive categories among qualified catchers.
Meanwhile, the Cubs' catchers have floundered offensively. Miguel Amaya, who came into the season with roughly the same amount of experience as O'Hoppe, has failed to solidify the starting gig. He's been supplemented by subpar backups Yan Gomes and Tomás Nido.
"As one rival executive put the Cubs’ pursuit of O’Hoppe, “I like the approach, but it didn’t have a chance of success,'" Sharma reported.
Sharma also speculated that the Cubs could pursue an upgrade at catcher again in the offseason, naming O'Hoppe and fellow American League West backstop Shea Langeliers of the Oakland Athletics as potential options to explore.
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