Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts made an appearance at a fan event in London yesterday, ahead of the club’s matchup against the Cardinals as part of the London Series, and was asked whether the club would be buyers or sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. “Obviously we’re buyers right now,” Ricketts said, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. “Things can come off the rails, but I don’t think they will. I think what we have is a core that can compete for the division and compete for the playoffs and now it’s finding the missing parts to add to it.”
It’s been pointed out by many observers that this year’s trade deadline could potentially have a different alignment than many in years past. Due to the expanded postseason and weak Central divisions, very few clubs can be firmly categorized as true sellers and situations can change quickly. As of just two weeks ago, the Cubs were 26-36 and 7.5 games back of the Brewers while the Reds were 29-34 and five games back. Both clubs have been on hot streaks since then and flipped the script. The Reds are now 40-35 and atop the division, putting them into the buyers camp. The Cubs are 36-38 and just 3.5 games behind and now seem to be thinking of buying as well.
As of just a few weeks ago, there was much speculation about the Cubs potentially trading away rental players like Cody Bellinger or Marcus Stroman, the latter of whom has one year remaining on his contract but the ability to opt out this fall. Putting those names on the market could have put the Cubs in position to reap huge prospect returns but their recent string of victories could now take those names off the table.
The situation is certainly fluid, something that Ricketts made clear in his comments. But it is still interesting to highlight the reality that this summer’s trades might end up being different than other years. The most common type of deal in years past would see a contending club give up prospects in order to acquire a win-now piece from a team buried in the standings. With so few clubs clearly out of contention this year, there may be more deals where contending clubs are on both ends, each trading from a surplus.
As a recent example of one such deal, the Yankees and Cardinals swapped Harrison Bader and Jordan Montgomery at last year’s deadline. The Yankees felt they had enough pitching that they could part with Montgomery in order to upgrade their outfield, while the Cardinals clearly felt the inverse.
All of that is to say that the Cubs could still look to trade pieces from their current roster even if they stay in the race, but it seems their overall approach will be one of gearing up for a postseason push, as opposed to making moves in preparation for future seasons. Which part of the roster they look to bolster will obviously depend upon health and performance in the weeks to come.
The bullpen would be an obvious target as the club’s relievers have a collective 4.29 ERA that places them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. The rotation is in good shape right now with Stroman, Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly and Jameson Taillon lined up every five days, but an injury or two could always change the picture in a hurry.
The lineup has some strengths but the infield corners stand out as weak spots right now. The third base combo of Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni hasn’t hit much while first basemen Eric Hosmer and Matt Mervis were disappointing enough that each is now off the active roster. Center fielder Cody Bellinger was hurried back from his rehab in order to take over at first but has hit just .105/.182/.158 since being activated.
All told, it will be a fascinating few weeks for the Cubs and for the baseball world as a whole. The club has already shown that a hot stretch can quickly flip the narrative upside-down, though the reverse is also true. Each game in June and July will take on magnified importance as each team tries to calculate their best path forward. For now, it seems the Cubs have put themselves in a position to get back into contention and they hope to keep it that way.
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