Cubs: Buyers or Sellers?
Courtesy of the Chicago Cubs
The trade deadline is looming, with only six weeks to go before teams decide whether they will be buyers making a push for the postseason or sellers trying to get returns on some of their best players. The Chicago Cubs are in a very interesting position, 40-46, 8 games out of first place and 7 games out of a wildcard. They aren’t totally out of contention, but they aren’t totally in it either, especially with the way both the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers have been playing. This most recent series in Milwaukee was a good test to see if the Cubs had what it takes to go on a stretch to take them to October. And while they had plenty of opportunities to sweep, they ended up splitting the series. Hopefully they can win the series in New York because that type of positive momentum could bode well for them following the break.
Luckily for the Cubs, they have one of the easier second half schedules. Following the break, they are playing the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago White Sox. All of these teams are in fourth or fifth place in their divisions, so the Cubs certainly have a chance to take a majority of these games. But even with an easy schedule, the Cubs have at times struggled to compete against not great teams. They need to succeed both going into and out of the break if they want to actually cement their place as buyers for the break.
The main questions about whether the Cubs buy or sell is what they are going to do with Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger. Both of these are fan favorite players, but with the seasons they have been having, make excellent trade pieces. Stroman has been one of the strongest pitchers in the National League with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Bellinger has had one of the best offensive seasons in a while with a .298 batting average, .352 on base percentage, and a .838 OPS. He also is still putting up Gold Glove level defense and is a versatile left-handed bat that a lot of teams could use right now. Stroman and Bellinger could be valued trade pieces to any team, but both players want to stay in Chicago, Stroman especially so, and it would truly be a disappointment to see more great players come through Chicago only to be sold at the deadline, just like the past two years.
If the Cubs wanted to be buyers by the deadline, the clear spot where they could use the help is at the corner infield spots. None of their options have proven continued success, their rookies start well and then are unable to hit spin. Nick Madrigal had been hitting better following his stint in the minors, but is now injured. Patrick Wisdom cannot hit a ball it seems. And Christopher Morel has not played nearly enough at third base this season to be prepared to succeed.
The most realistic action the Cubs will take is being both buyers and sellers. They’ll trade some of their stronger prospects, such as Yonathan Perlaza or Nelson Velasquez, and mid-range MLB players, such as Trey Mancini or Tucker Barnhart, for other good prospects, hopefully a corner infielder. The only way the Cubs would get someone really big is with trading Bellinger or Stroman, but if they are able to play above average ball and eat away at the gap in the division and wildcard, to around 4 games, being both buyers and sellers is the likely result.
