Chicago Cubs pitching has this team fighting back ahead of the trade deadline

With all rumors pointing to the Chicago Cubs being sellers at the MLB trade deadline on July 30th, the team has quietly won four of the last five games. This doesn't yet turn things around regarding the team's fate, but we need to monitor what the Cubs are doing over the coming week to ensure they will be trading players away. The most substantial reason we have for this is that the starting rotation has been on fire for a while, and with the bullpen starting to sustain itself, there's renewed optimism that this team is about to make a push.

Over the last 15 days, the team has the 3rd best ERA in the National League with a mark of 3.55. In those past 15 days or 13 games, Cubs starting pitchers have recorded nine quality starts. Unfortunately, over that same stretch, the offense has been the 12th worst in the NL with a slash line of .230/.310/.376. Although, they recently scored ten runs against the Philadelphia Phillies and another nine against the Baltimore Orioles. Hopefully, they are turning the corner.

It will be essential that the offense finds consistency because the pitching is anchoring this team and trying to catapult them back into the win column. It's a shame that some of this rotation may be broken up for prospects when the team already has the most top 100 guys in baseball. If I'm Jed Hoyer, I'd keep my rotation as is and only add it this winter with another front-line starter to pair with Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga.

Is a Wild Card berth still worth fighting for?

It's a tricky situation for the front office right now. They aren't in a spot where they can go all-in, but selling their best players only hurts them next season. The goal isn't to tank and start from scratch; that famous word "re-tool" comes to mind here. This is, however, an actual situation where you need to re-tool and add a couple more pieces to be successful. If the Cubs only added one successful closer this past offseason who converted even half of the blown attempts this year, the Cubs would be flying high in a playoff spot right now.

Nevertheless, hindsight is 20/20, and the team is stuck unable to justify either heavily buying or genuinely selling. They must continue playing better if there's a chance they won't sell at the deadline. To do so, they will have to roll over some of the better teams in the league, but if they are successful, they should add at least a couple of bullpen arms before August. The next two weeks are critical.