The Chicago Cubs have made a big move at the trade deadline, acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Paredes played earlier in the day for Tampa in their win over the Cincinnati Reds (TB 2, CIN 1). Despite going 0 for 2 with a walk, he’s had a decent season with a .245 batting average and 16 home runs. The Cubs see him as a long-term addition since he’s under team control until 2027.
Trade Details and Player Background
In return for Paredes, Tampa will get Christopher Morel and pitching prospects Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson. This trade is special for Paredes because he started his career with the Cubs back in 2015 before being traded to Detroit. Now, he’s coming back to where it all began.
Paredes had some ups and downs with Detroit but found his stride after being traded to Tampa just before Opening Day in 2022. He became known for pulling fly balls more than any other player with at least 200 plate appearances:
1. Isaac Paredes: 23.7% pulled fly balls
2. Anthony Santander: 21.3%
3. Jake Bauers: 21.0%
4. Rhys Hoskins: 19.8%
5. Danny Jansen: 19.6%
Fans might wonder if this extreme approach will work well at Wrigley Field, which can either suppress or enhance home runs depending on wind conditions.
Impact on Teams
The Cubs hope Paredes’ style fits well at Wrigley Field and appreciate his defensive skills at third base—a position where Morel struggled this season with minus-12 outs above average.
Morel has shown great power but struggled defensively at third base; now that he’s moving to Tampa, he might focus more on hitting rather than fielding errors.
Bigge recently debuted in MLB and has impressed with a low ERA of 1.17 in minor league innings, while Johnson is still developing but shows promise as well.
Tampa’s Trade Strategy
This isn’t an isolated move by Tampa; they’ve been trading several players like Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, and Jason Adam as part of their deadline strategy to reset their roster despite being only three-and-a-half games out of a wild-card spot.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are last in the NL Central but still eyeing potential trades involving Jameson Taillon or relievers like Mark Leiter Jr., showing they might both buy and sell players before Tuesday’s deadline.
What do you think about these moves? Are you excited or worried about your team’s future?
