Despite back-to-back wins, this Cubs team still looks like sellers

On Saturday afternoon against the lowly Los Angeles Angels, the Chicago Cubs can do something they haven't been able to do since late April: win three consecutive games.

Even running off back-to-back wins to mark the Fourth of July weekend felt like quite the accomplishment given these Cubs put together a 21-34 record in May and June. Even with those two victories under their belt, Chicago still trails Milwaukee by what feels like a chasmic 11 games and finds themselves six games back in the wild-card hunt.

Frankly, the only thing that's gone right for Craig Counsell's club is the starting pitching. But despite boasting the third-lowest starter ERA in the National League, the Cubs have nothing to show for it. Yet again, trade rumors and speculation surround the team and it'd take a small miracle for the front office to avoid another midseason sell-off.

This Cubs team hasn't gotten the job done - we need to remember that

Jed Hoyer isn't going to decimate his revamped prospect depth for rentals, hoping for a second-half miracle. It's far more likely the team looks to re-tool and compete again in 2025, with a large chunk of money coming off the books, spending the rest of the summer assessing young players to gauge what they may have to offer next year.

Could the Cubs do what they did last July, when they went from sure-fire sellers to buyers after running off a season-best eight-game winning streak during the last 10 days of the month? Perhaps. But staking your season on such a thing happening isn't a great spot to be in, yet it's where the Cubs are for a second straight year.

The hard truth is this. This roster hasn't gotten the job done. Despite the excitement of the 2023 season coming down to the very last day, the Cubs missed the postseason. This year, it's more of the same. Changes are needed and Hoyer would be well served to take a long, hard look at this group in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline and be ready to make some major moves.