Cubs Rumors: Team still shopping for bullpen pieces and an impact bat with just days till the trade deadline

All good things must come to an end. After reeling off eight straight victories and going from sellers to buyers, the Cubs dropped the series finale to the flailing Cardinals on Sunday - and will now return home for a measuring stick homestand against the Reds and Braves.

While the team told executives across the league this weekend Cody Bellinger isn't going anywhere, the same hasn't been said for Monday's starter Marcus Stroman, who has long been speculated as a potential trade piece - even if the Cubs are psuedo-buying in hopes of a strong second half surge.

When it comes to the team's deadline plans, Patrick Mooney at The Athletic (subscription required), shed some light on where things stand: hopefully adding a bat and some depth to the bullpen. That's been the belief for awhile now, at least when we all sat around speculating and wishfully longing for the team to be in this very position, even when 10 games out back in June.

Cubs poised to upgrade around the edges in hopes of making a run

Chicago has come surging back into the playoff picture - which I'm sure is going to have a large swath of the fanbase expecting big-time moves. That's not going to happen. I can't stress enough how important it is to go into the next 48 hours with realistic expectations - Juan Soto or Josh Hader isn't going to be a Cub come Wednesday morning. Sorry, folks.

CJ Cron still makes the most sense in my mind, a veteran power bat at a position the Cubs desperately need help at on an expiring contract. (Editor's note: Fun fact: three minutes after I wrote this, Cron was traded to the Angels - so that's fun). The White Sox relievers have been largely picked over already, but someone like Aaron Bummer is still a possibility. Perhaps Jed Hoyer does one-stop shopping in Colorado, adding Cron and a veteran lefty like Brad Hand? We'll soon know with just two dayds until the MLB trade deadline.