Chicago Cubs: Are the Milwaukee Brewers slugging their way to the top?

Chicago Cubs: A loaded offense the ticket to October in Milwaukee?

Instead of chasing an ace like Jacob deGrom or even Chris Archer, the Brew Crew went out and added an infielder in Jonathan Schoop. Pair this with the acquisition of Mike Moustakas and you’ve got yourself an interesting scenario.

The team seems content to shift Travis Shaw over to second base, where he had never played before this week. Shaw, of course, played an integral role in the team’s emergence in 2017, hitting 31 home runs and driving in 101 runs. Defensive liability? He could be – but it’s too soon to tell.

Moustakas will also see time at second. That allows manager Craig Counsell to line up an infield of Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw, Jonathan Schoop and Mike Moustakas. Young shortstop Orlando Arcia seems to be the odd man out – hardly a surprise, given he’s hitting .196 on the year.

Chicago Cubs: Are the Brewers’ and Cubs’ infields comparable?

In other words, the Milwaukee infield averages a 115 OPS+ (an offensive value roughly 15 percent above league average). If you’re wondering, and I know you are, a healthy Cubs infield of Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant equate to a 113 OPS+.

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That’s right. At least, offensively, these teams are neck-and-neck on paper.

Defensively, I’ll still take Chicago 10 times out of 10 – and I don’t think I need to explain why. So let’s pivot to pitching. Did Milwaukee drop the ball on not adding a starter? Honestly, I don’t think so. And that’s not the conclusion I had initially drawn once the deadline came and went without them making a move.

Brewers starters rank fourth in the National League in terms of ERA (3.80) – far outpacing the Cubs’ 4.17 mark. Granted, they lost Brent Suter to Tommy John surgery. But they keep getting good news on Jimmy Nelson, who is yet to throw a pitch this year after going under the knife last fall.

Chicago Cubs: Brewers riding bats and a dominant bullpen to October?

If Nelson can return and pitch up to what he did last season (3.05 FIP, 10.2 K/9, 4.15 SO/BB ratio) – the Brewers will get their late season pitching addition. But, there remains no clear timetable for such a return.

The Kansas City Royals proved you can win by surviving five innings and handing things over to the bullpen a few years back. The Brewers boast one of the best pens in the league, with the third-lowest relief ERA in the NL – anchored by the likes of Corey Knebel and Josh Hader.

You might think the Brewers were moronic in not adding an arm. But, given the roster construction and the talent positionally, they might have just enough in the tank to give the Cubs a serious fight over the final two months.