Even with a rash of injuries, it is clear that the Chicago Cubs are the best team in baseball, but should they sacrifice their future to put all their chips in on this season? It probably would not be wise to do so.
The Cubs were looked at by many as the favorites to win the World Series and break the longest championship curse in professional sports, and up to this point in the season, that expectation has not changed.
Sitting at a major league best 47-21 record, Chicago is in the driver’s seat in terms of being the best bet to bring home a title, but it has not been without obstacles. The Cubs lost a young quality hitting outfielder in Kyle Schwarber early in the season. The team has dealt with nagging injuries to their young core throughout the year, Jason Hayward has been a letdown after landing a huge contract and their dynamic top of the order hitter Dexter Fowler was just placed on the disabled list. However, in spite of all of these challenges, the Cubs have continued to be the class of Major League Baseball.
How have they been able to continue to win games at a record-setting pace? That has mostly to do with the depth of young talent that they have in their organization. Many people were wondering why the Cubs were making Jorge Soler their fourth outfielder with the price tag he has. Signing Ben Zobrist also meant that Javier Baez was no longer looking like an everyday option. The team had a variety of top tier prospects including Albert Almora, Ian Happ, Gleyber Torres and Willson Contreras that they never traded to improve their starting rotation or bullpen.
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Chicago now looks awfully smart to have kept many of their young building blocks. The Cubs most recent lineup included Baez, Contreras and Almora, none of whom were expected to have a major role this season, but their value is being truly realized by thrusting them into a postseason push. But will this strategy of keeping their young talent change now that a championship is possibly in reach?
The answer is looking to be no. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, even though many of the team’s top prospects are blocked for the near future by the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs will not be looking to deal many of their young guns this summer. Could the club use another top starting pitching option or a couple of high-end back-of-the-bullpen guys? Sure, but is giving up a lot of key pieces from their farm system worth it when the Cubs are already in the position that they are, even with all the injuries that they’ve had to work around?
Adding the likes of Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman seems like a flashy move that will certainly increase the talent on their ball club, but the fact remains that they don’t really need those types of players in order to win the World Series this year.
Chicago may be young , but they have the experience of going deep into the playoffs in 2015. Hector Rondon has been very solid the past couple of seasons. Their rotation has been one of, if not the best in all of baseball. They could use another quality arm or two to round out their bullpen, but they wouldn’t have to deal the likes of Baez, Contreras, Almora or Schwarber to do it.
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Going after the likes of Andrew Miller, Sonny Gray or Julio Teheran would be a bit excessive with the situation they find themselves in at this point of the season. It also doesn’t seem like the formula that President Theo Epstein and General Manger Jed Hoyer have built this dynamic team on. There is no denying that the Cubs would be in a better position to win a championship if they traded for a big time name before August 1, but we could be looking at one of the all-time dynasties on our hands with the young core that this team has. The Cubs shouldn’t waste it by going after players that would be more of a luxury than a need.
The Cubs have a deep enough farm system to add a solid arm in the bullpen that they need, but going go all out and acquiring a pitcher like Andrew Miller would not be worth it for Chicago. As you can see by looking at the Cubs’ year so far, having depth is important to maintaining an upper echelon team throughout the season, and the organization will seriously regret giving away controllable talent if they push many of their chips in on just this season, but it doesn’t look like they will.
Next: Cubs Trade Deadline Preview
Should the Cubs give away some of their premier young talent to make a big splash on the trade market? Share your thoughts in the comments below.