Wrigleyville Nation's Podcast - Chicago Cubs Discussion, News, & More · wrigleyvillenation.com

Ep 384 - Guest: Matt Trueblood, Cubs Sox Recap, Trade Deadline Speculation, Brewers Series Preview, & More

July 28, 2025·1 hr 29 min·35 clips

Jeremy Diemer and Pat start with the mood of the week: the Cubs won two of three on the south side after losing a series to Kansas City. That swing in feeling frames the episode, then the conversation moves into the bigger deadline questions hanging over the season. Matt Trueblood joins from Northside Baseball to help sort through the pitching market. The show opens with a tribute to Ryan Sandberg, whose illness is on everybody's mind. That keeps the tone grounded before the baseball talk takes over. The hosts stay focused on what the Cubs actually need, not what the rumor mill wants. They ask whether the team should go after a rental or a controllable starter. Owen Casey comes up as a possible trade piece, with the sense that the Cubs are probably going to trade him. Mitch Keller is discussed as one path, while Mackenzie Gore and Edward Cabrera come up as the bigger upside names. Jackson Wiggins is the pitching prospect the Cubs would rather keep. The question is how much Chicago wants to give up to land one of the top starters without handing over both Casey and Wiggins. They also compare that kind of move with the shorter-term option of a Merrill Kelly type rental. Trueblood and the hosts keep circling back to the same front-office habit: the Cubs are usually unwilling to spend what it takes on the free-agent market for pitchers with a proven track record. The conversation is not flashy, but it is specific, and that helps. The episode spends most of its time on roster construction, prospect value, and the trade-offs between this year and the next. By the end, it feels like familiar, skeptical baseball talk that Cubs listeners tend to trust. It wraps up as a conversation about decisions, not just names.

As heard by us

A grounded Cubs deadline conversation that keeps its eye on roster cost and practical options.

Episode 384 starts with a Cubs win and then settles into a useful deadline conversation. The focus stays on the south side series, the Kansas City loss, and what the front office should actually chase next.

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Want Cubs deadline talk with actual roster math?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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