Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer joined the New York Posts Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman for an interview on the latest edition of The Show podcast ( ), and discu sed a number of topics about both his team and baseball at large. Though were still several weeks away from the July 31 trade deadline, Hoyer did addre s his first-place teams likeliest need. I think were going to be looking for pitching, both rotation and in the bullpen , Hoyer said. I dont think thats a secret. Thats not a knock on the guys we have. But I think in todays game, youve got to keep building depth . pitched in just four games before his season was prematurely ended by a UCL revision surgery, thus robbing Wrigleyville of one of its top arms for almost the entirety of the 2025 campaign. hasnt pitched at all this season due to a pair of oblique injuries, and since he only Charlie Culberson Jersey started playing catch a couple of weeks ago, it would seem that a return prior to the All-Star break might not be in the cards. hasnt pitched since May 4 due to a hamstring strain, and Hoyer said the hope is Imanaga will be able to return to the rotation before the end of June. Without their two top pitchers and another hurler in A sad that expected to at least compete for a back-end rotation job, Chicago has done well to hold its own on the rotation front even with such a depleted set of starters. Hoyer made a point of praising his in-house starters and his teams defense for helping the run-prevention efforts, yet bringing at least one starting pitcher into the fold seems like a logical way to reinforce the roster heading into the pennant drive. As one might expect, Hoyer didnt share any hints about how big of a splash the Cubs are looking to make at the deadline, and still couched his comments within the framework of if the front office chose to make any additions by July 31. It could be that Hoyer may not know the answer to such questions himself at the moment, as the Cubs trade pursuits may hinge on Imanagas a sumed healthy status by July 31, A sads progre s, or any other injuries or pitchers who are under- or overachieving in the coming weeks. Hoyer also said that is expected to return from his own oblique injury before June is out, which will bring another high-leverage candidate back to help the relief corps. As Hoyer put it, however, bullpens are always a work in progre sI dont think you ever get to a point of feeling comfortable or feeling like its a set thing . With this in mind, the pen will be a focus both on July 31, and well keep on making small transactions [before the deadline] as well to get marginally better . On the flip side of the equation, Hoyer doesnt see the Cubs doing much to alter its impre sive core of position players on the trade front. The Cubs have been one of baseballs best hitting teams, with the powerful offense helping make up for any of the pitching staffs shortcomings. Barring injury, there are probably some small things [well consider] on the offensive side, but really I think that our position-playing group has been really good.The depth we have, top to bottom, I think were getting production both offensively and defensively from all our spots. Thats made a huge difference. As I think about it, pitching is the likely direction we would take if we were adding [at the deadline] , Hoyer said. In terms of other topics, Hoyer said he wouldnt comment publicly on either the existence of any extensions talks between the Cubs and , or even any talks between himself and the team on a new deal, as Hoyers current contract is up after the 2025 season. Hoyer repeated past comments about how he hoped Tucker would stay in Chicago over the long term, and how much he has enjoyed his own 14-season tenure in the organization as first a general manager and then the head of the baseball operations department. Hoyer did go into a little more detail about what might now be the most impactful trade of his five-year run as PBO that brought to the then-rebuilding Cubs from the Mets for , , and some cash considerations. New York took Crow-Armstrong 19th overall in the 2020 draft so it wasnt as if PCA was an unknown quantity, yet a shoulder surgery limited the outfielder to only six games in his first pro season. The Mets werent willing to discu s moving more highly-touted prospects at the time, as Hoyer said such players as , , and were off the table in trade talks. was a guy that was kind of discu sed a little bit but it was clear they didnt want to part with him , Hoyer noted, so discu sions turned towards elsewhere on New Yorks minor league depth chart. Crow-Armstrong was sort of out of sight, out of mind, I believe , Hoyer said. Looking back, I think his injury didnt allow him to perform, and therefore I think he became a guy [the Mets] were willing to trade in that deal. So I think it was good fortune for us that they did take some really good players off the table, and most of those guys are helping the Mets right now, but Petes injury allowed that to happen and it worked out really well for us . While Hoyer felt Crow-Armstrong was going to improve as a hitter during his second full Major League season, even the executive admitted to being a little surprised at the extent of the breakout. PCA has been one of the very best all-around players in the sport, delivering 17 homers, 21 stolen bases, and a .277/.313/.559 slash line over 275 plate appearances while also playing Gold Glove-level defense in center field. Dylan Lee Jersey