5 darkest moments for Chicago Cubs fans since the MLB trade deadline

Chicago Cubs: 5 darkest moments of the last week – #4 – Craig Kimbrel

Losing Craig Kimbrel was probably the easiest move to come to terms with given we all knew how much trade value he had. But at the same time, it made it abundantly clear: this was a top-to-bottom house cleaning.

Knowing the bullpen was the strength of the team, to deplete and whittle it down to almost nothing was all the Wrigleyville faithful had to see. They knew the front office was no longer trying to compete and had cast its focus on the years to come.

Kimbrel, who was in the middle of a monster season, the type of year that any contending team would be striving to obtain and utilize the services of, was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer. With Chicago, Kimbrel posted a 0.49 ERA in 36 2/3 frames, on pace to have one of the greatest seasons as a reliever in terms of ERA, was far and away the most valuable player on the Cubs roster.

Prior to his return to Wrigley Field on Friday, when he turned in his worst outing in basically a decade, serving up a game-tying three-run shot to Andrew Romine in the eighth, Kimbrel had been his typical dominant self. But needless to say, all any Cubs fans are thinking about this weekend is how shaky Kimbrel looked in the Crosstown Series opener.