Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell’s no-BS trade deadline imperative

The Chicago Cubs, by all sane expectations, shouldn’t have the fourth best record in all of baseball right now. In maybe any other world, they’d be somewhere near the middle of the pack, just somewhat in play for a Wild Card spot, but more focused on what they could do next year.

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As things stand right now, though, they are thirteen games over .500 and holding firmly on to the top NL Wild Card spot. And they’re doing this with a patchwork pitching staff made up of emergency fill-ins and castoffs from other teams.

Emerging young ace Cade Horton was lost for the season with an elbow injury in just his second start. Veteran ace Justin Steele’s comeback from elbow surgery met with an ugly setback that may cost him the rest of this season. Ben Brown’s surprising emergence as a frontline starter has been derailed due to a recurring neck problem. Edward Cabrera is on the IL. Closer Daniel Palencia is deep into his second stint on the IL. Offseason bullpen acquisitions Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Hoby Milner are also currently on the shelf. Jameson Taillon was just activated after six weeks out of commission. Even Matthew Boyd has had two separate stints on the IL.

It’s been ugly. Yet, the Cubs keep winning.

The Cubs’ dilemma

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And that puts the Cubs front office in a bit of a tough spot as the August 3 MLB trade deadline approaches.

The team clearly needs pitching—and lots of it. But, realistically, even a prodigious haul at the deadline won’t add enough arms to the mix for a serious run deep into the postseason. Injury has taken a lot of pieces from the team’s puzzle. At most, the hope is to get the Cubs good enough to make the playoffs and then hope and pray the team catches fire once there.

Counsell’s simple directive

Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently issued a no BS response when asked about his wishes ahead of the trade deadline.

“Just make the team better,” Counsell told reporters on Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s a specific to that at all right now. Most teams are in the same spot regarding that. There’s a lot of ways to make the team better.”

And, well, yeah.

The question, however, is how to do that with a limited amount of trade-bait prospect capital and a market that looks to be considerably more competitive than previously anticipated.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer could opt for a blanket approach, one where he acquires several lesser-regarded arms to provide the team with increased pitching depth. He could also target one major acquisition as a front-of-rotation presence and a morale boost to a team that has scrapped and shown true grit all season.

Something will have to be done, though, if the goal is to take this team into the playoffs with any chance of actually winning.

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