Will Chicago Cubs Regret Not Trading Away Ace at MLB Trade Deadline?

The Chicago Cubs confused many with their MLB trade deadline decisions and could easily grow to regret their choices.

Aug 3, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon (50) throws the ball against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs were a confusing team at the MLB trade deadline in that they decided to add to their roster rather than picking up prospects for the future.

FanSided's Zach Pressnell re-examined each team's deadline to find which player they would regret not trading away. For the Cubs, that player was Jameson Taillon.

"[Chicago] would be better off to take advantage of the selling market by dealing their controllable starter, Taillon," said Pressnell. "[He] is having a solid season, and he holds a few years of control on his contract."

The 32-year-old is in the midst of one of the best year's in his career. He has a 3.50 ERA with a 1.184 WHIP.

His solid season hasn't really helped the team that much, however, as the Cubs are just 10-10 in games that he started.

The Florida native is in a pitching staff that is full of talent. Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele have had better years and the rest of the rotation (outside of Kyle Hendricks) has an argument as well. Cade Horton is also coming down the pipeline soon.

He's a good pitcher, but was expendable.

At the deadline, Chicago wasn't expected to be much of a contender, which led many to believe that they would trade away some pieces that they could add from.

This especially made sense in a market that seemed to pay out handsomely to teams that had even just slightly above average starters.

The Toronto Blue Jays were able to pick up a haul of three solid young players from the Houston Astros for the rental services of Yusei Kikuchi.

Taillon has been consistently better over his career and is having the better 2024 campaign. He's also under contract through the end of the 2026 season.

On the downside for the Cubs, they would have likely needed to pay at least some of his remaining salary, give that he's making $17 million a season.

It would have hurt their return slightly, depending on how much they wanted to pay, but not enough to take a trade completely off the table.

The only reason that it would make sense to keep him around would have been to compete for the rest of the season. They're just four games back from a Wild Card spot, so they could technically still make a push.

When the offseason rolls around, they could circle back around to trade conversations, but the 2024 deadline market seemed like the perfect time to pull the trigger.