CINCINNATI — As the Cubs’ postseason hopes have dwindled this season, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made it a goal to begin planning for next year in his approach to this Trade Deadline. That meant tackling some immediate needs while also targeting some players to help in the future.
The North Siders made moves on both fronts in the days and hours leading up to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT Deadline. The finishing touch for Hoyer’s group was shipping late-inning reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees on Tuesday in exchange for pitching prospect Jack Neely and infield prospect Benjamin Cowles.
TRADE DETAILS
Cubs receive: RHP Jack Neely (Yankees’ No. 22 prospect), INF Benjamin Cowles (Yankees’ No. 29 prospect)
Yankees receive: RHP Mark Leiter Jr.
“We wanted to make deals we felt like made sense for 2025 and beyond. The goal wasn’t just to accumulate assets,” Hoyer said via Zoom before the Cubs’ 6-3loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. “We did the deals that crossed our line and made sense for us, and we didn’t do a lot of deals that didn’t.”
