Cubs magic number becomes sole focus after Brewers clinch NL Central title

The Milwaukee Brewers have once again won the National League Central title. Even after the Cubs had an aggressive offseason with the trade for Edwin Cabrera and signing Alex Bregman, the Brewers once again established themselves as the class of the division.

This offseason, the Cubs will once again be faced with the question they have yet to answer: how can they overtake the Brewers for the top spot in the division?

It may feel like a lazy excuse, but the answer could simply be tied to health. The Cubs have been without Cade Horton since April, and it remains to be seen if Justin Steele will pitch for the big-league club before October. Regardless of the lack of impact the Cubs got from Cabrera this season, being without Steele and Horton for most of these past two years wasn't going to put the team in a position to leapfrog the Brewers.

That said, the Cubs would be wise to not view the returns of Steele and Horton as the reason to be complacent with their offseason activity. The Cubs will once again be searching for a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, and they can't operate with the same mindset they had last offseason when they bowed out of the bidding for Dylan Cease once it reached $200 million.

At some point, the Cubs will need to reach the point where they become uncomfortable in addressing their need for pitching. That means going to the top of the market to sign an established ace. Now, for the Cubs, the problem specific to this offseason is that outside of Tarik Skubal, there may not be an established ace available in free agency.

Regardless, in terms of their goal of winning the division, this season has been failure. Though, the Cubs remain in a position to make the playoffs.

Brewers clinching NL Central forces Cubs to turn attention toward shrinking magic number

Entering play on Wednesday, the Cubs' magic number to clinch a wild-card spot is six. They hold a half-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the top spot, and a 1.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks have taken their foot off the gas pedal, now trailing the Padres by 2.5 games for the final playoff spot in the National League.

This isn't quite the position the Cubs expected to be in when they started the season, but if you ask them, all they need is a chance in October and the rest could be history.

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