Four Trade Candidates Chicago Cubs Should Monitor Before Deadline

The Chicago Cubs will need to be active in the trade market if they want to finish rounding out this roster ahead of the deadline.

Apr 25, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz (2) singles during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the best teams through the early part of the MLB season, but are not a finished product.

A few things have gone wrong for them this year that could be addressed in the trade market. They need pitching help across the staff and to find a real solution at third base, all of which can be done with a couple of deals.

Here are some intriguing names that the Cubs should be watching as the July deadline gets closer:

Yandy Diaz

Diaz hasn't played the hot corner since 2023 and rarely plays in the field anymore at all, but could still slide over there if needs to.

The Tampa Bay Rays don't look like they're going to be competing this year and Diaz becomes a free agent after the season, so he makes a ton of sense to be moved.

The 33-year-old has had a down year, but even his .248/.298/.403 slash line would be more productive than what Chicago has gotten this year. He still has an OPS+ of 100.

If he could get closer to what he has looked like over the last couple of years, that would be even better.

Dylan Cease

The Cubs have been able to manage the loss of Justin Steele well, but they may want to look into bringing in another ace for when the postseason comes around.

Cease started out this season on a rough footing with his ERA ballooning after giving up nine runs in four innings in his third start.

In the four outings since then, he has looked better with a 3.79 ERA. His stuff looks good and he still gets a lot of strikeouts, so teams should feel fine about trading for him.

Jhoan Duran

Chicago's bullpen ranks No. 23 in MLB with a 4.53 staff ERA. Ryan Pressly has been a great addition and Julian Merryweather has looked fantastic, but they need some more difference makers.

Duran has been incredible this season, looking much closer to the superstar that he did to start his career. Through his first 14 outings, he has a 1.35 ERA and 1.050 WHIP.

He'd be under team control through the end of 2027 and is expected to be expensive, which is why the Minnesota Twins would move him.

Eugenio Suarez

It might seem odd to trade for a third baseman with a .186 batting average, but he has an NL leading 10 home runs.

Over his last 10 games, he has a .250/.317/.639 slash line. That looks closer to what he was doing last year and should be enough to consider him a valuable trade target.