Major League Baseball's trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and many teams are up in the air about where they stand. The Cubs remain engaged in a battle for the National League Central, as they attempt to catch the Brewers, but the position has put general manager Jed Hoyer in a bit of a tight spot.
With the Cubs seated firmly in second behind the Brewers, they'll need to step up their game if they're to really take the top spot. But does that mean the Cubs need to be buyers at the deadline? For many teams that could be a very easy decision, but the Cubs have been perpetually injured this season. If the Cubs get some of those pitchers to a healthy position, where would the Cubs really benefit from help?
Tarik Skubal would be the ultimate test of the Cubs’ deadline ambitions
The Cubs have been linked to Tarik Skubal by various different outlets, but that doesn't necessarily say much about the truth of the matter. As the trade deadline approaches, it's very important to be able to read between the lines, because many outlets are just trying to grab your clicks with baited titles.
Skubal is a back-to-back AL Cy Young winner. He's 29 years old, and though his current season stats may be a slight step back from his usual prowess, he's still throwing a 2.70 ERA, has a 7-5 win record this season, and is boasting a 2.9 WAR. He would obviously be a boost to any rotation he joins, and it would be a lifeline that the Cubs desperately need.
It's simultaneously impossible to ignore that Skubal is not going to come cheap. The Cubs have been firmly behind the Brewers all season long. Is it prudent to sell away some prospects or trade pieces like Matt Shaw or Michael Conforto even though there's no guarantee that the Cubs can catch Milwaukee without a significant boost in production?
But that brings me to the most important part here. Skubal is a free agent at the end of this season. That makes him hardly anything more than a rental piece for a team that is truly trying to make a push for the pennant. It's difficult to make the argument for the Cubs to be in that position when it's so clear that they're struggling to take the top of their division without even glancing at the mountain that would be the Dodgers.
At the end of the day, if the price is right, by all means, the Cubs should get after Skubal. But if the Tigers are demanding a price too high, then it makes more sense for the Cubs to bow out of the terms. Making a push now when there are so many question marks doesn't seem worth selling a portion of the future.
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