Time Coming For Chicago Cubs To Make Bigger Moves

The Chicago Cubs find themselves as contenders in their division. If another month passes and they are still there, the front office will have to open up their bank and minor league system to make bigger trades to help them continue to contend.

Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs

As the month of May winds down, the Chicago Cubs find themselves as contenders in the National League Central. Should another few weeks or month pass by and they still find themselves in the thick of things (not only for the division but also for one of the two Wild Card slots), Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer will need to open up the Ricketts’ family vault and the Cubs’ minor league system to make big trades to keep them there.

Before the season started, there were high hopes by Cubs fans. Of course, some fans felt the Cubs were going all the way (the same as every season for the past 106 seasons). First baseman Anthony Rizzo ramped those hopes when he predicted that the Cubs would win the National League Central.

For others, however, the hope was to be over .500 and maybe get ready to really contend next season.

After the good start, however, some people are thinking “They just might make the playoffs” and hopes are getting raised even higher.

Looking at this team, you can see that this is not a team that can sustain a playoff run lasting through the end of the season.

It’s great to see such a young infield, but it could hurt them. There have been some critical errors made that cost at least three games in the past two weeks, and the young Cubs lead the major leagues in strikeouts (432).

The Cubs have also had trouble at the back-end of the rotation, with Travis Wood having to go to the bullpen, and the bullpen being pretty shaky, tied for second in the major leagues in blown saves (8).

Cubs’ chairman Tom Ricketts stated during his state-of-the team address in spring training that “We’ll have the flexibility to do whatever Theo needs to do in the middle of the season.”

Those words should be magic for Cubs fans. Epstein and Hoyer have done a fine job assembling this team so far, but now the pressure will be put on them to finish the job.

Newcomer Miguel Montero thinks the Cubs can make the playoffs this year also.

“Since December, I saw the front office doing the best they can to put a team together to compete,” Montero said. “They put a really good team together with the addition of (Jon) Lester, (Jason) Motte, (David) Ross. The young guys are big-league players already. They’ll still develop, but they’re (doing it) in the big leagues.

“Maybe they think about next year or the year after. But it can be this year – and then next year and the year after. Because these guys are just getting better.”

If the Cubs are still in contention a month from now, Epstein and Hoyer need to use the money and prospects available to make sensible trades that can get the Cubs over the top and back into the playoffs. Once they’re there, who knows what may happen.

Next: Theo Epstein Changing The Way Teams Are Built

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