Chicago Cubs: Trade deadline looms, nothing off the table

It’s been an up and down year for the Chicago Cubs. To sit in second place at this point might be luck or good fortune. But the Cubs, as they are now, are going to need to fix–or change–some of the pieces.

You would think that with three All-Stars, and several that were in the ‘Starters Election,’ the Chicago Cubs would be better than where they sit at 45-40. But the entire division is close, only a handful of games separating the top from the bottom.

We ‘know’ that this team is better than this. That they ‘should’ break out soon and start winning games. Joe Maddon has made a habit off it in the second half. The thing is if this team stays the same–what if they don’t?

The Cubs went and signed Craig Kimbrel, proactively ‘solving’ their closer issue. Steve Cishek and Pedro Strop were adequate, but they aren’t closers. But after saving his first game, he’s pitched only once in mop-up duty in the 18-5 loss to the Pirates. He allowed a three-run home run, but I can’t blame him. Nobody wanted to face that lineup on this particular night.

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Jed Hoyer addressed the needs and wants of the Cubs prior to the loss, and didn’t stop short of critiquing the team, but in the GM way of doing so.

"“We’ll look at everything,” general manager Jed Hoyer said prior to Monday night’s ugly 18-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. “It’s been a frustrating 40 to 50 games. In baseball, you’re always trying to evaluate what is sort of the random ups and downs of a long season versus what is a legitimate concern of what needs to be addressed. h/t Patrick Mooney, The Athletic (Subscription)"

We’re past the hangover of a title. Good gracious, that was three years ago. And these players, the ‘young’ guys? They’ve been here for a few years. They should be showing improvement.

Ian Happ was a casualty of that this spring when he was surprisingly sent down to Triple-A. Performance over promise, the Cubs have said. But there’s still several that aren’t performing. Where’s their ticket to Triple-A?

"“It’s an interesting question,” Hoyer said, “because I feel like in a lot of ways, a lot of the guys are where they need to be from an individual standpoint. There’s a lot of guys having really good years. I think from a team perspective, that’s where the frustration lies in a lot of ways. We just haven’t hit with guys in scoring position. We haven’t capitalized on a lot of opportunities. It feels like that’s too often the storyline — what our numbers are with guys in scoring position.”"

Ah, RISP. If there is a stat that will define the Cubs over the last two seasons, it’s hitting with runners in scoring position. Last season, they were 19th in the league batting .247 with RISP. This season they’re 27th batting .246, according to Fangraphs.  The only good thing for the Cubs? The Brewers are right behind them at .245. The best team in the Central? The Reds at fourth hitting .277.

It’s no longer just pitching the Chicago Cubs are looking at. They have to consider all options to improve this team. They are better than how they’ve played in the last month. But it can’t be assumed that they will figure it out on their own.