The Chicago Cubs have been one of the worst teams in baseball for the past two weeks. Since their no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24, they have gone 1-11 in their past 12 games. Most importantly, they fell from first place in the NL Central to now 8.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.
On their 11 game losing streak, they gave up 13+ runs in four games and didn’t score above two runs in seven games. Now, the Cubs find themselves under .500 with a 43-44 record. As a result, this puts the Northsiders in an extremely tough situation, begging the question: Do they still buy at the trade deadline or do they now sell?
Nonetheless, the Cubs will have to decide if they can win the World Series with this roster. The season is about halfway over and without this losing streak, Chicago was on track to make the postseason. However, now it seems like a much harder task for the Northsiders.
Their one long losing streak could be the reason that they decide to blow everything up and trade everyone. They were considered one of the best teams in the National League all season long, but now they might look to get young prospects for their superstar players.
The Chicago Cubs have made some very interesting moves the past year. They traded away their star pitcher Yu Darvish and their backup catcher Victor Caratini to the San Diego Padres. It appears that trading away Darvish was to save money to sign Chicago’s biggest stars including shortstop Javier Baez, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and third baseman Kris Bryant. All three stars are free agents after this season.
As a result, if the Cubs want to keep all their stars together, they simply have to pay them all. However, if Chicago knows ahead of time that they won’t sign all three, then they could look to trade one of their key players at the deadline.
If the Cubs become sellers at the trade deadline, don’t be surprised if Bryant becomes a trade target for many teams. Last season, the 29-year-old third baseman was involved in many trade rumors before the season started. However, Chicago never dealt him.
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Now, things could be different, especially since Bryant is in the last year of his contract. The former NL MVP is having a much improved season after struggling much of 2020. This season the 6-foot-5 utility man is batting .268 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI.
If the Cubs happen to not sign all three players, the odd man out is most likely Bryant. He is the only star player that they have attempted to trade in the past. However, if Chicago wants to go into a full rebuild and start getting a better farm system, this trade deadline could be their best friend.
They could essentially trade Baez, Bryant and/or Rizzo and get plenty of assets in return. Even closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel could be on the move if they decide to blow everything up. With just three weeks until the trade deadline, the Cubs have to start winning more and close that gap with the Brewers. However, if they don’t, the Northsiders could decide to get rid all their star players.
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