Cubs added former Brewers outfielder, All-Star pitcher to complete aggressive trade deadline

Yesterday morning, MLB Network's insider Joel Sherman reported that the Milwaukee Brewers were interested in acquiring veteran starting pitcher Clay Holmes from the New York Mets. Holmes, who has been on the injured list with a broken shin since mid-May, was a solid buy-low candidate with postseason experience for the Brewers, but after Milwaukee swung a trade for starter Dustin May from the St. Louis Cardinals, the likelihood of the Mets' right-hander landing with the Brew Crew decreased significantly.

Then, just before the deadline arrived, the Brewers officially lost the Holmes sweepstakes, as their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, swept in and traded for the veteran right-hander. As initially reported by insider Jon Heyman, the Cubs acquired both Holmes and former Brewer Tyrone Taylor in exchange for infield prospect Jeferson Rojas, who is the No. 63-ranked prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

Cubs further reinforced rotation by adding Clay Holmes in three-player swap with Mets

Chicago's three-player deal with the Mets completed what was an aggressive trade deadline for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs' front office. After agreeing to a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday night that landed them All-Star starter Kevin Gausman, the Cubs made a second All-Star rotation addition by adding Holmes yesterday afternoon. Now, Chicago's once-banged-up rotation picture looks far more daunting as the penultimate month of the regular season gets underway.

With Gausman and Holmes presumably joining their starting rotation, the Cubs now have a much stronger top four, with Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga included, regardless of when their currently injured arms like Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown return from the IL.

Holmes, who is 33 years old and holds a $12 million player option for the 2027 season, has looked dominant when healthy since the Mets elected to convert him to a starter before the 2025 campaign. In 40 starts since the start of the 2025 season, Holmes has a 3.26 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of Taylor is by no means insignificant. Though he's played in just 67 games this year, the former Brewers outfielder has a .793 OPS and 10 homers on the season. He's a dependable fourth outfielder who certainly elevates Chicago's batting lineup against southpaws.

The Brewers still hold a comfortable 5.5-game lead in the NL Central, but the Cubs are by no means going away quietly. Chicago adopted an aggressive strategy at the deadline, parting ways with six prospects who ranked in MLB Pipeline's list of the Top 30 prospects in the Cubs' farm system. Chicago also parted ways with rookie slugger Moisés Ballesteros, who was traded in a deal for Los Angeles Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, who could end up being a key piece of the Cubs' bullpen.

Jed Hoyer and the Cubs' front office went aggressive at this year's trade deadline, and it could make for a tighter division race than Brewers fans expected down the stretch. If Milwaukee takes care of business and plays the way they are capable of, they should have no problem securing their fourth consecutive NL Central title, but Chicago certainly made things interesting by adding a pair of All-Star pitchers to their starting rotation at the deadline.

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