Cubs have already beat work of 2025 trade deadline, but is it enough?

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Rahimi & Grote Show 15 min 2 speakers 4 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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What breaking sports news opens the trade-deadline episode?

Vinny Rotino 0:00

A happy trade deadline day to you. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. We are going to hang with it today. We got you from 10 to 2. We will hang with the breaking news. We will react with you. We will keep monitoring it. We will also keep monitoring the news from Bears Camp and about that, by the way, in case you did not hear earlier. Unfortunate news this morning reported by multiple Bears reporters. Kobe Bryant taken off of the practice field on a cart. Adam Hogue saying that he was very emotional when he was carted off the field. Tried to walk off initially, so we'll keep track of that as well. Mark Grody is going to join us at 1125, so we'll get the latest from him. In the meantime... It is trade deadline day.

Vinny Rotino 0:44

And if you were sleeping, which you probably should have been, unlike me, up at 4 a.m. to read about the late night White Sox trade.

Marshall Harris 0:52

Yes, yes.

Vinny Rotino 0:54

It's that kind of day for us, okay? We're not sleeping. We're here to listen to the trades. Mets tradeaway reliever Huasco Brazoban to the White Sox in exchange for Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin. That was reported. But the big one, I think, the biggest deal so far that has been made in this town is the Cubs getting starting pitching. They get a big name in Kevin Gossman. It is a rental. I think that there's been a lot of discussion surrounding Gossman. Marshall just... He's a part of the Cubs ecosystem. They had been keeping an eye on him. He's got that splitter that I think is really effective. I know they like that. He has swing and miss stuff. The strikeout rate is still there. It's high. And when you add him to the compliment of Cubs starting pitching, I can see why they wanted to do a deal.

Vinny Rotino 1:41

Do we think it's enough? I think you've got to see a little bit more out of the Cubs trying to get another reliever arm if they can, but they've done more already than they did last year at the trade deadline. Michael Soroka and Willie Castro, anyone?

Marshall Harris 1:54

I think this is already a better deadline. I like this because it shows me that the Cubs front office... Jed Hoyer and company, they learned from last year and understood that the market wasn't what they thought it was going to be. And this time maybe attacked it in a more prudent way because of the expectations of how many teams are still involved in talk of being in a playoff race.

Vinny Rotino 2:19

Well, that's it. We know who the players are in the National League for the most part. We don't know what the seating might necessarily be for a team like the Cubs, who, unless the Brewers take a real interesting turn, look like they're still in control of the division again. But in the meantime, I think when you check out Gossman, he's 35, and I know that that's up there. 5-10, a 438 ERA, 23 starts, 351 fit. That's fielding independent percentage. But I think it really does more come down to how much he can throw swing and miss, how much his strikeout rate is still part of the discussion. This is from Ken Rosenthal. This was yesterday with The Athletic. He talked about the numbers themselves. Since Gossman joined the Blue Jays in 2022, only Dylan Cease and Zach Wheeler have more strikeouts than him.

Vinny Rotino 3:10

Gossman posted an ERA under .390 for five straight seasons before 2026, while making at least 31 starts. In 2025, in the postseason, Gossman posted a .2938 ERA in six appearances. So you see what they wanted to do here, and that's something that I think You and I have talked about a lot, mostly with the bullpen when it comes to the Cubs, the lack of swing and miss, but we will absolutely take this on the starting pitching side.

Marshall Harris 3:37

They need it.

Which Cubs additions are announced early on trade-deadline day?

Marshall Harris 3:38

They need answers at starting pitching, and you would hope to get a guy who is quote-unquote top of the rotation. I don't know if Gaussman at age 35 and a strikeout per nine that's no longer in double digits and nine strikeouts per nine innings. While admirable, I don't know if he still fits the bill. You mentioned the fielding independent pitching. I think the 3.51 FIPP is much more indicative of what he can be for the Cubs than the 4.38 ERA because we know how good the Cubs' defense has been.