Chicago Cubs Trade Deadline Preview
By Ron Juckett
A team on the cusp of greatness, the Chicago Cubs will pick and choose their spots as the 2016 trade deadline approaches.
On pace to win 116 games, the Chicago Cubs are by far the best team in baseball.
As they carry a ten game lead in the National League Central over the Pittsburgh Pirates, projecting to a 15-game bulge by the trade deadline, the Cubs are in a position where they should not be caught.
With no glaring weakness, you would think outside a spare bullpen arm that the Cubs are set for a deep run into October.
You would be wrong. Although the team appears to be in the middle of a long run, President Theo Epstein, General Manager Jed Hoyer and Manager Joe Maddon know you take nothing for certain.
Even with a team as well as the Cubs, there is room for improvement. Swept by the New York Mets last year in the NL Championship Series, and a franchise eternally linked to goats and failure, the time to win is right now. Merely making the playoffs is not the goal, a victory parade in November is.
As they fire on all cylinders, Chicago has to balance the current goals with future ones. As they search for the last piece completing their championship puzzle, they realize a giant bullseye sits on their backs. How much of the future do they mortgage to win now?
For the Cubs, it is a wonderful problem to have.
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