Cubs Reddit AMA: How does Caissie's hot start affect OF plans for 2026?

On Wednesday, MLB.com senior reporter Jordan Bastian held an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit with Cubs fans at r/CHICubs. This mailbag features questions and answers from the AMA, the full version of which can be read here.

Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Do you think Owen Caissie’s hot start in the big leagues will influence how aggressive the Cubs will be in pursuing (Kyle) Tucker in free agency?

I wouldn't necessarily view the Tucker-Caissie situation as being linked in the manner you're describing here. Tucker is an established star. Caissie (Cubs’ No. 1 prospect, MLB Pipeline’s No. 45 overall) has a long path to reach that same level and a short sample (good or bad) over the last month isn't going to sway front-office opinions too drastically. What the Cubs have in Caissie is a highly regarded prospect with a high offensive ceiling. And if Tucker leaves via free agency, Chicago would likely consider Caissie for outfield/DH at-bats.

Let's say the Cubs, hypothetically, do find a way to convince Tucker to stay; that wouldn't necessarily force Caissie to Triple-A Iowa again in '26. It's possible Chicago considers trade scenarios, too. Ian Happ's name has been floated in trade rumors for a few years now to varying degrees and Seiya Suzuki's was mentioned as a trade candidate last winter. But, we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. Let's see how the rest of '25 goes before putting this puzzle together.

Did you hear of any deals that almost happened at the Trade Deadline?

I'll disappoint you here, but I don't have much intel on trades that nearly happened. One bit of insight learned in the days after the Deadline, however, was a reason behind Chicago's front office being so hesitant to pull off a blockbuster deal for an impact controllable starting pitcher. There were teams asking for rookies Matt Shaw and/or Cade Horton to be part of the deal. That makes sense from the acquiring team's side of the table, but not for the Cubs. Both Shaw and Horton are crucial pieces to the current team, and the long-term core group.

The Cubs were not willing to subtract from the MLB roster to that extent just for some perceived short-term gain. And given how Shaw and Horton have performed over the past six-plus weeks, it's a good thing Chicago held tight. Shaw has been one of MLB's top hitters since the break (1.023 OPS with nine of his 11 homers this season) and Horton suddenly looks like a possible NL Rookie of the Year contender (1.11 ERA since the start of July).

Which two do you think get called up next week when rosters expand?

With only two spots, September callups are less intriguing than they used to be. I'd think before the end of September, you could see Michael Soroka and Miguel Amaya back from the injured list. In the more immediate picture, catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros (Cubs' No. 2 prospect, No. 52 overall) would seem to have a high probability of promotion. And with the current pitching depth situation, maybe it's just whoever is the odd-man out at the moment. Right now, Javier Assad is in Triple-A Iowa. He could be brought back, for example. Or, the Cubs could use that as a flex spot for an extra reliever (see the options on the 40-man roster). Not a very exciting answer, but that's how I'd anticipate a contending team using those slots with the limitations in play.

We sometimes hear about the gameday routines of the players. How about a gameday in the life of a beat writer?

Before I get to the ballpark, I keep things simple. I'm an avid runner, so I like to get out and explore cities that way. Sometimes I'll hit up museums or look for some good local coffee shops. After all these years, I pretty much have my go-to lunch spots in all our stops. For work? Using a 7 pm game as the template, beat writers tend to arrive around 3 pm. We'll have a pregame access window for the clubhouse and then a pregame Q&A session with the manager. Then it's back upstairs to write, cover the game, write some more, hit the clubhouse postgame, and then go write some more. Barring anything wild, we tend to be done between 11-midnight for that type of game.

And then, you know the best part about baseball? We get to do it all over again tomorrow.