Brandon Glick

Outside of Boston and New York, the Cubs and Cardinals rivalry is one of the most heated and storied in baseball. One franchise may or may not have a much stronger track record of reaching the ultimate goal, but fans of both franchises have always been relentless when the two teams play each other, regardless of the quality of the product on the field. Image courtesy of © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports One of the more interesting aspects of this rivalry, especially over recent years, is the number of players who have moved directly from one franchise to the other. While trades between the two teams almost never occur (key word: almost), free agents have found homes in both St. Louis and Chicago recently, including Dexter Fowler and Willson Contreras leaving the Cubs and Jason Heyward joining them (just in time to give the most expensive speech in sports history). But could this year be the year that the two teams finally align in terms of need, surplus, and value? The Cardinals are really, truly sellers for the first time in forever, having shipped off Jordan Hicks to Toronto and Jordan Montgomery to Texas over the weekend. And the Cubs are at least prospective buyers, riding their recent eight-game winning streak to an over .500 record and in the hunt for the divisional lead and one of the three wild card slots. The Cubs’ needs are relatively obvious this year: a first baseman, starting pitching depth, a reliever (especially a left-handed one), and (depending on your feelings on Nick Madrigal) a third baseman. The Cardinals, as aforementioned, have already begun shipping off pitchers. What remains in their cupboard on that end is Jack Flaherty (a rental SP having a solid back-end of the rotation season), Giovanny Gallegos (a righty reliever with a few years of team control remaining), Ryan Helsley (a fireballing closer who was an All-Star last year) and Steven Matz (a lefty starter who pitches exceptionally well against the Cubs and not-so-great against the rest of the league). On the positional side, Paul DeJong is heavily rumored to be available and can play all over the infield. Brendon Donovan may also be floated, though his price tag will be exorbitant even before the rivalry tax is applied. And while Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt fit the Cubs’ roster like a glove, there is no conceivable world where the Cardinals would willingly hand one of their two MVP-caliber players over to the Cubs. So the question this all begs: given that the Cubs are (likely) buying and the Cardinals are certainly selling, could the two franchises move past their rivalry to reach an agreement on a mutually beneficial trade? Would you want to see the Cubs fork even a single prospect over to the Cardinals, knowing they’ll likely apply their voodoo Cardinals magic to turn them into the next Lou Brock? Or perhaps you’re content just to watch the fireworks, hoping the Cubs make smart moves elsewhere while the Cardinals blow up the foundation of their team? No matter how you see it, this deadline is sure to provide some sort of spectacle, even if the Cubs are less involved than in years past. And with a little bit of persuasion from Jed Hoyer and crew, the Cubs and Cardinals can make a trade that leaves the rest of the MLB stunned. View full article

I certainly loved him. And there was a lot of boo-hooing on twitter when he was traded (that's how you determine a player's popularity nowadays, right?).

Oh absolutely - even the Braves this year only have a 20% chance based on the models (which, who even knows how accurate those can ever really be). And there are certainly circumstances where standing pat makes sense. But the Cubs have two of the BEST trade chips on the market right now. They certainly don't need to sell the whole team off, but it's organizational malpractice not to cash in on such a seller's market (should they choose to sell that is).

Definitely wouldn't mind seeing Stroman traded for a cost-controlled corner infielder, and then flipping one those Triple A prospects (Perlaza?) for a pitcher. But this is a seller's market, so it'll take a lot more than we're used to for a quality SP.

I think this a great attitude to have. Only difference for me is that in 2015, most of the future core of the roster was already up in the majors. Right now, a lot of those big prospects (PCA, Alcantara, Horton, etc.) are still in the minors.

It's 100% true that the Cubs' deadline sale last year was far less implosive than the year before, but that's mostly because they had less to trade away (and the Contreras trade to the Astros was nixed at the last second). My point was more so that the Cubs have been among the most obvious and voluminous sellers in the last two years on the market. And while I would love to share your optimism, something tells me Jed and "aiming high" don't always mesh (at least for now).

As Cubs fans, it’s easy to fall back into the “Lovable Losers” mantra. It’s a moniker that followed the franchise and its dedicated fanbase for over a century. And since the departure of the curse-buster himself, Theo Epstein, following the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, the Cubs have resumed their place among the hierarchy of baseball’s most prolific sellers. Image courtesy of © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports It’s been less than a decade, but it can be easy to forget: 2016 was our year. Atop the baseball world heading into the trade deadline, the Cubs bought, and they bought big: they acquired one Aroldis Chapman at the peak of his closing powers, trading away top prospect Gleyber Torres and former first-round pick Billy McKinney (and Adam Warren and Rashad Crawford) for the final piece in their pursuit of that elusive World Series title. The 2023 Cubs, fresh off two consecutive deadline fire sales that saw practically every fan-favorite and remaining member of that World Series winning core shipped off for prospects, are not in the same position to buy so prodigiously. In fact, most pundits across the league expect them to sell, as they are armed with two of the best trade chips on the market in Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger. But, here on July 28th, finally back to .500 and 5.5 games back in the division (and just 4.0 games back in the Wild Card), the Cubs are at an impasse. Year three of this “Not a Rebuild” has yielded mixed (at best) results, as most of the top prospects in the organization still have MLB ETAs years into the future. It may be prudent to sell one more time this year, hoping to boost the stock of the farm system one more tier before truly committing to opening the window of contention in the offseason. At the very least, that path appears far more appealing than merely standing pat at the deadline and hoping for the best. Here’s the thing though: baseball, like all sports, is entertainment. We, as fans, desire to be entertained. Guys become folk heroes in the midst of the games that matter. Kyle Schwarber didn’t become a Chicago legend because he was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft; he became a hero for hitting bombs into the Allegheny River against Gerrit Cole in a do-or-die scenario. Ben Zobrist will go down in the mythos of the Windy City because he won the greatest World Series MVP of all time, not because he facilitated the Starlin Castro trade that would eventually bring Chapman to the Cubs. It’s true that there are fun stories that develop even in lost years. Frank Schwindel became the people’s champion in 2021 following that fire sale, and Hayden Wesneski dominated after being acquired for fan-favorite Scott Effross in 2022. Prospects get some extra love as everyone looks toward the future, like “Mash” Mervis last year or Brailyn Marquez during the final years of the last core’s collapse. And even though these storylines are fun, they pale in comparison to the legacy-defining moments that defined this franchise’s recent past. It’s important to note that no one is advocating for an all-out assault on the buying side of the market this year (or at least, they shouldn’t be). The Cubs aren’t getting Shohei Ohtani or Justin Verlander, even if both of those guys were plainly available. But maybe a reunion with former top prospect Jeimer Candelario to help fix what ails the Cubs at third base, or a buy-low attempt on C.J. Cron to fill the black hole that is Chicago Cubs first basemen in the year 2023, could help the Cubs make a valiant push back towards the playoffs. If nothing else, it would help signal that this “retooling” (HEAVY emphasis on the air quotes there) is coming to an end, and the Chicago Cubs are ready to genuinely compete again for something besides a top 10 pick in next year’s draft. To put it plainly, these 2023 Cubs aren’t going to win the World Series. It’s more likely than not they miss the playoffs. But maybe, with a few small additions to fortify this roster, they can back their way into the Wild Card Round. Hell, with Justin Steele and Marcus Stroman leading the way, maybe they can luck their way into a Postseason series win. Failing that though, it would just be nice to see the Cubs playing meaningful baseball again into September. On the brink of failure lies the precipice of success. View full article