Trades are expected to be part of the conversations the Chicago Cubs have next week at the Winter Meetings, but Jed Hoyer pulled off a small deal on Thursday night. The Cubs have sent right-handed pitching prospect Nico Zeglin to the Houston Astros in exchange for international bonus pool money.
It’s worth noting that the current international signing period is set to close on December 15. For the Cubs to make this deal now, it would suggest that they have identified an international free agent that they would like to add to their signing class. It’s a hard-cap system, so if there was someone who popped up on the Cubs’ radar in recent weeks, given that most of their money has already been allocated, a trade like the one they made with the Astros needed to happen.
Expect in the coming days for that prospect to be revealed. Along those lines, speaking of international free agents, it hasn’t been a strong showing for the Cubs at the Major League level in that regard. That could change in a major way next season for Chicago, considering Mosies Ballesteros is expected to have an increased role in light of Kyle Tucker’s departure.
Cubs add international bonus pool money in under-the-radar trade with the Houston Astros.
If the trade with the Astros was the first time you’ve heard of Zeglin, you’re not alone. Zeglin was signed out of the Independent League by the Cubs last year. Zeglin missed all of the 2025 season, but as a 25-year-old pitching at the Class-A level in 2024, he posted an impressive 0.95 ERA in 25 appearances.
The Astros, who are strapped for cash this offseason, may have identified Zeglin as someone who could ascend quickly through a system with the goal of reaching the Major League level before the end of next season. Something that almost certainly wasn’t going to be his trajectory with the Cubs.
In the grand scheme of the Cubs’ goals for the 2026 season, this won’t move the needle. But that trend should change as early as next week.