Chicago Cubs call up top prospect amid trade deadline speculation

The Chicago Cubs have made some headlines and have stirred the pot for baseball conspiracy theorists everywhere with their latest roster move.

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According to Geoff Pontes of Baseball America, 23-year-old prospect James Triantos is being called up to the major league squad.

The 2021 second-round draft pick has been one of the Cubs’ most consistently well-regarded prospects since joining the organization. A down year in an injury-hampered 2025 cost him his spot on the Top 100 prospects list and kind of soured his top prospect status overall, but he still ranks no. 7 on the Cubs’ list and is essentially back to performing up to previous expectations.

For the Triple-A Iowa Cubs this season, the right-handed extreme contact hitter is currently slashing .306/.344/.440 with 7 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases.

Primarily a second baseman and third baseman, the organization has started giving him more playing time in the outfield, where he’s played a total of 16 games this season.

Interesting timing for the call-up

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The Cubs bringing him up now, though, has fueled some speculation. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any burning need for Triantos’ services with Pedro Ramirez handling infield duties as a bench player and the combo of Kevin Alcantara and Justin Dean working as backup outfielders.

But we ARE less than two weeks away from the August 3 trade deadline.

Could the Cubs be showcasing Triantos for a possible trade? Could they be seeing how well he does at the major league level in anticipation of trading Ramirez or Matt Shaw? Once Shaw gets back from the IL, there surely wouldn’t be a point in having three outfield-capable second and third basemen on the same 26-man roster.

Unless there’s some injury-related reason for the Triantos call-up, it does seem very possible that the move could somehow be trade deadline-related.

Nothing but praise for Triantos

Whatever the case, there seems to be not a single negative word about the young man or his character. Although he doesn’t profile to have much power, he does just about everything else well.

Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd actually made a point of raving about Triantos during his early June rehab assignment in Iowa.

“He’s a great person,” Boyd told the Des Moines Register. “He’s a great ballplayer and I know he’s going to help us win ballgames at some point. He’s doing a great job.”

“Triantos keeps playing great wherever he’s (at) and hitting,” Boyd added.

Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey also can’t say enough about Triantos’ positives.

“When he swings at strikes, he’s as good a hitter as we have on the team,” said Pevey. “He’s still young, but he’s a freaking gamer. He plays so hard and I love that about him.”

The Cubs will take on the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday.

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