Should the Chicago Cubs stand pat at upcoming MLB trade deadline?
After a slow start, the Chicago Cubs are expected to be aggressive at the MLB trade deadline. However, is that the best plan of attack?
Entering Sunday, the Chicago Cubs are 43-44 on the season and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 4.5 games in the National League Central. If the Cubs cannot pull off a victory on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they are going to be below .500 at the All-Star break. Prior to the season, that would have seemed impossible.
A recent surge by the Brewers has allowed them to pull away a bit, but nobody is counting the Cubs out the division race. They have played awful this season but they are undoubtedly still the most talented team in the Central. A second-half run to take the division would not be surprising at all.
Needs in the rotation
That being said, there are holes on the Cubs’ roster that have undoubtedly held them back. Last season, their starting pitching was historically good. This year, they have taken a major step back. When Kyle Hendricks returns from injury, I still like the Cubs’ top three of Jon Lester, Hendricks and Jake Arrieta.
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However, the Cubs undoubtedly lack great depth in the rotation. Even worse, that top three has not been near as strong as last season. With the lack of depth and the struggles of John Lackey, the Cubs could undoubtedly use an addition in the rotation.
Offensive issues
On top of that, their offense as a whole has struggled mightily. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have continued to be strong contributors. Rookie Ian Happ has been a nice surprise and guys like Willson Contreras and Jon Jay have been solid. However, besides that, the Cubs’ offensive production has been minuscule.
While they have all looked good in stretches, guys like Jason Heyward, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Ben Zobrist have not held up their end. It is a bit difficult to see where, but the Chicago Cubs could certainly stand to add some offensive firepower as well.
It is easy to see why the Cubs could use some help on the trade market. However, would it be wise to make a big deal that likely only helps them in the short-term? When it comes down to it, the Cubs need guys like Schwarber, Zobrist and Russell to step up if they have any chance of competing. If that doesn’t happen, it does not matter how many additions the Cubs make. They are not going anywhere.
Epstein comments
Recent comments by Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein make me wonder if we see a quiet deadline for the Cubs.
"“Our biggest fixes are inside the clubhouse,” Epstein told the media, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “This is largely the same club that won 200 games, averaged 100 wins over the last two years. There’s not a player that we can realistically bring in from the outside that can spur us to play at that level.”“Some years it’s relatively easy to make small upgrades or big upgrades and some years it’s virtually impossible,” Epstein continued. “You can get in trouble when you tell yourself you have to force something. You can’t force anything.”“We’ll do what we can to look to augment [the roster], but there’s not going to be a fundamental shift in the player personnel that we have.“We like our club. We don’t like how we’ve played to date.”"
There is a lot of interesting stuff there and it all makes me think of when the Cubs were rebuilding. They were taking the necessary steps to build their fantastic roster filled with elite young talent. Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer would let us know whenever they had a chance that they were not building to win for a year. They were building this roster to compete for a championship for many years.
Do not panic
After actually winning a World Series, it is easy to lose track of that goal. We all know that this team is good enough to compete for a championship. Making a move to supplement the roster makes sense in theory. The Chicago Cubs have not played well, but they could still easily go on a run, especially if they added another piece or two. But they still have to be responsible.
However, when it comes down to it, the players already on the roster are going to have to perform if the Cubs are going to make a run. Adding someone like Justin Verlander would certainly help, but it is not going to matter if half of the offense can’t hit and the back end of the starting staff allows six runs per start.
Next: Under-the-radar trade deadline targets for Cubs
If the deal is right, I hope Epstein and company make any trade that will help this team. However, forcing a trade that hurts the franchise in the long-term would be absolutely foolish. Last year, trading a top prospect for a lock down closer made sense. This year, the Chicago Cubs are better off standing pat and rolling with what they have.