With only a month and a half to go until the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the rumors are circulating that two powerhouses in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, will be looking to add as much pitching as possible. Both teams are at the top of their respective divisions, and for L.A., it feels like more of the same. This year, however, the Cubs are loaded, and they have the assets to edge out the Dodgers in multiple trades.

Over the winter, the Cubs traded top-100 prospect Cam Smith as part of the deal to acquire Kyle Tucker. But that trade barely scratched the surface of the Cubs’ farm system, which not only still has five top-100 guys remaining (after Matt Shaw’s graduation), but also has more depth that may crack the list shortly. At this point, Chicago has more talented young players than it has roster spots.

Outfielders Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara are both currently blocked, and you can almost guarantee one of them will be moved at the deadline. Moises Ballesteros is also blocked now, as the team already has two catchers, a lefty first baseman and a daily DH all being utilized at the big-league level. The Cubs have multiple top-tier names that are expendable, and team president Jed Hoyer will be looking to put his foot on the gas, given that he, too, is in a contract year. His tenure may depend on getting the Cubs back to the postseason, and that means finding as much pitching as possible no matter what.

There’s just one problem, though: He won’t be alone in that goal.

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The Dodgers have reason to go all-in at the trade deadline too

With how banged up the Dodgers have been this season, specifically among their pitching staff, don’t expect L.A. to lay down and die at the deadline. They, too, will be highly aggressive in the heart of their playoff window, and they still have ample organizational depth to make significant splashes at the deadline.

The Dodgers have five top-100 prospects in their own right, and names like Josue De Paula or Zyhir Hope will be ones to watch. I can’t foresee Dalton Rushing and Jackson Ferris being moved, and they shouldn’t need to be, given the quality of prospects the Dodgers have elsewhere.

We’re looking for a heavyweight showdown at this year’s deadline. Where the Dodgers go all-out with spending compared to the contract-conscious Cubs, Chicago has done a good job staying well below the first tier of the luxury tax such that taking on multiple contracts at the deadline shouldn’t be an issue. I expect these two teams to be the most active in the National League, and they both have the farms to beat out their respective NL opponents in negotiations.

The fact that they both have the same primary need is just the cherry on top. The New York Mets will also have a lot to say about which team ultimately comes out of the NL, but the Cubs and Dodgers feel like the two deepest teams in the league, and both can take their rosters into overdrive with a little more pitching help. Whichever one gets it at the deadline could get a World Series title for their troubles.