Cubs Acquire Isaac Paredes, Send Christopher Morel to Tampa Bay

Wow. Simply put, the Chicago Cubs are acting like buyers at this year's trade deadline. Rather than selling off pieces like Jameson Taillon, Nico Hoerner, and others, Jed Hoyer has decided to buy for now and the future. On Saturday, the Cubs moved on from two prospects to acquire RHP Nate Pearson . On Sunday, the Cubs made a massive splash.

Per a number of reports , the Cubs are sending 3B Christopher Morel, RHP Hunter Bigge, and RHP Ty Johnson to the Tampa Bay Rays for 3B Isaac Paredes.

This move is a massive addition for Jed Hoyer. The Cubs' top baseball mind said he would add players for 2025 and beyond if they were going to be active at the deadline. He has done exactly that with his acquisitions. Pearson has two years of team control after 2024 and Paredes has three years of control.

This season, Paredes is slashing .245/.357/.435 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs. On the other hand, Morel is slashing .199/.302/.373 with 18 home runs and 51 RBIs. Both players have had their struggles, but with arguably a worse roster on paper, Paredes has done a little bit more than Morel.

Surely, Cubs fans will be sad to see Morel go. The friendly youngster has captured the hearts of many. However, Hoyer saw an opportunity to improve and the upside of Christopher Morel was the cost.

Hunter Bigge is the Cubs' 29th ranked prospect after Yohendrick Pinango moved on to Toronto. As for Ty Johnson, the right-handed hurler is currently at High-A and owns a 3.54 ERA as both a starter and reliever. At 22 years old, Johnson could turn into a nice piece for Tampa Bay, but this move still makes a lot of sense for the Cubs.

Paredes was originally signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent back under Theo Epstein. He was moved to the Detriot Tigers with Jeimer Candelario in 2017 for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson. After he stayed with the Tigers for a few seasons, they moved him to Tampa Bay for Austin Meadows. Now, Paredes is back with the first organization that signed him.

The Cubs conclude their series in Kansas City on Sunday and head to Cincinnati for three games starting on Monday. Tuesday is the MLB trade deadline, so there is still time for Jed Hoyer to make another move to improve the club for 2025 and beyond.

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