After what had been a stellar tenure with the Atlanta Braves, 2025 has been a very challenging season for Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias was one of the better closers in baseball, but this season has seen his slider become almost throw-ably bad and his 5.09 ERA across 43 appearances has included some notable implosions including blowing a lead in the ninth on Saturday against the Ranger. Being that Atlanta is out of contention and this is the last year Iglesias is under contract, most expect him to get traded by the deadline.
There is no shortage whatsoever of playoff contenders that need bullpen help, but there has been precious little in the way of specific trade rumors around Iglesias beyond random mock trades with no intel attached. Iglesias' stock is down considerably and his salary is going to make some teams balk, but there has to be at least one team out there that is willing to roll the dice on him given his track record.
Fortunately, there does seem to be at least one real contender that could be sniffing around Iglesias as a pair of Chicago beat writers just connected the Cubs to a potential Iglesias trade.
Cubs beat writers believe a Braves' Raisel Iglesias trade could be a fit
While it sounds like a number of options are in play for the Cubs, The Athletic's Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma cited actual intel that Iglesias is under consideration by Chicago for a trade. This isn't a Jim Bowden "make up stuff" situation as both Mooney and Sharma are plugged in and are generally above board.
As for what such a trade could look like, Braves fans may want to temper their expectations. Not only is Iglesias pitching poorly right now, but he is making $16 million this year. While the Cubs would only be responsible for a prorated portion of that, the Chicago isn't likely to give up much in the way of prospects if Atlanta wants them to also take on the financial burden the rest of the way.
That said, it does seem clear that Iglesias' time with the Braves is coming to an end one way or another. Trading him now at least could give Atlanta a short-term boost and even more clarity heading into the offseason as to what their priorities should be. After all, Atlanta is going to have to see what they have with the rest of their current bullpen options if Iglesias is gone.