The Cubs are 61-46 and sitting pretty as the top wild card in the National League after steamrolling the Cardinals 10-2 on Tuesday. That win was nice. But what happens before the August 3 trade deadline matters more than any single game in July.
Chicago needs a starting pitcher. They’ve been linked to Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal, among others. And everyone knows the asking price for a frontline arm like Skubal starts with young talent. Lots of it.
That’s where Pedro Ramirez comes in. The 22-year-old utilityman got called up recently and has already made an impression. Tuesday night he went 3-for-5 in the blowout win. Fans are attached. Prospect experts are impressed. But Jeff Passan of ESPN had some real talk for anyone treating Ramirez like he’s untouchable.
Passan posted on Threads and didn’t mince words. He said Ramirez isn’t untouchable, and frankly, he shouldn’t be. That’s a direct message to Cubs fans who’ve been digging in on keeping the kid no matter what.
Why Ramirez isn’t the untouchable prospect fans think he is
Look, Ramirez can hit. He’s earned the attention he’s getting. But here’s the thing about the MLB trade market — almost nobody is truly off-limits. Teams talk about untouchables, sure. But real untouchables are guys like Juan Soto or Shohei Ohtani level. Ramirez isn’t that.
He doesn’t have a long-term defensive home yet either. That matters. A young player without a settled position is easier to move because you’re not blowing up your infield or outfield by trading him. He’s a bat first, find a spot later kind of player right now.
Does that mean the Cubs are going to dump him for spare parts? No. They’re not dumb. But if the Tigers call and say Ramirez has to be in the Skubal package, Chicago has a real decision to make. And based on what Passan is hearing, that decision might go a certain way.
The Skubal trade calculus for Chicago
Skubal is a difference-maker. He’s 28, left-handed, under team control through 2026, and dealing this season. The Cubs rotation has been solid but not dominant. Adding Skubal changes the math for a playoff run and beyond.
Teams that win the deadline usually give up something real. Sometimes that’s a prospect you’d rather keep. Sometimes you let a fan favorite go. Ramirez is talented. But he’s also a 22-year-old with fewer than 50 big league at-bats. His value might never be higher than right now.
The Cubs front office knows this. Passan knows this. And now the fans know it too. Whether that makes the eventual trade easier to swallow is another story.
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