Cubs trending toward being buyers, but nothing is set in stone just yet

Things are trending up for the Chicago Cubs as the team's lone All-Star representative Shota Imanaga soaks up his first Midsummer Classic in Texas. Winners of eight of their last 10, Craig Counsell's club enters the second half just three games out of a wild card spot. Being within such a close striking distance seemed like a dream earlier this month.

With their hot finish to the first half, the Cubs are one of several teams trending up and looking more like buyers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Given their major market status and immense financial resources (should ownership choose to leverage them), there's potential for a major move here.

The bigger problem is that the expanded postseason format has led to so few teams being clear-cut sellers. More common is the fringe team, like the Cubs, which could go a long way toward determining the front office's course depending on how the week out of the break goes.

Chicago's most glaring need is a legitimate run producer in the middle of this lineup. It's got a solid supporting cast, but with Cody Bellinger out - and with him not slugging much this year - the need is clearer than ever: the Cubs need a power bat if they want to make a second-half run.

There's a clear opportunity to upgrade behind the plate, even after replacing Yan Gomes with Tomas Nido, and, frankly, you can never have too many arms, so expect Jed Hoyer to look for staff upgrades should the Cubs end up buyers. They'll open their second-half slate with a critical six-game homestand, welcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks in this weekend and the first-place Milwaukee Brewers early next week.

It's all hands on deck. The next week-plus will determine the fate of a team that has drastically underperformed. If they can carry some of that momentum they finished the first half with into this homestand, we might have meaningful September baseball at Wrigley after all.