Cubs could conceivably trade Justin Steele, but it would take an overwhelming haul

After dropping two of three at home to open the second half, the Chicago Cubs 'don't foresee' a scenario where they buy at the July 30 trade deadline. Now, that doesn't mean fans should expect another fire sale similar to 2021, but Jed Hoyer isn't going to pull from his farm system for rental additions in hopes of an improbable postseason push.

This isn't a roster built to sell, but the Cubs could get creative if presented with the right offer. One such instance - and one that could move the needle in the most meaningful way - would be a trade of left-hander Justin Steele, who finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting last year.

"We're not in good shape. We got to get it going fast here."

Craig Counsell, Cubs

The Cubs want big league-ready talent in any trades, which makes a Justin Steele trade seem unlikely, at best

It's hard not to think about this scenario through the lens of the Yu Darvish trade, which came on the heels of a second-place finish in NL Cy Young voting in the shortened 2020 season. But there is a very key distinction here: Hoyer isn't going to trade here for a package of high-ceiling 19-year-olds. This team intends on contending in 2025, so anything coming back needs to be big league-ready or, at the very least, very close.

That makes finding a match at the deadline challenging. Most teams in the playoff hunt aren't looking to subtract from their roster midseason. They'd rather subtract from their prospect pool, chase their ring and figure out the long-term in the winter.

So, yes, Steele is obviously an interesting trade target for teams seeking a top-of-the-rotation injection into their staff, especially in a market that lacks many power starters. That being said, though, there are a lot of factors here that make a deal actually happening feel like the longest of long shots.