The Cleveland Indians Trevor Bauer Story: Drones, Arbitrations, and Trades
By Manny Gómez
Chicago Cubs
Prior to the 2018 season, Jake Arrieta, who in 2016 led the Cubs to their first World Series since 1908, opted to go the Philidelphia Phillies. This left a gaping hole within the Cubs starting rotation.
Despite the fact that the Cubs had ownership over 1st place in the NL Central starting on July 13 until game 161, and having a 4.5 game lead over the 2nd place Milwaukee Brewers on September 1, the Brewers took the world by surprise by tying up the division and forcing a game 163.
After the Brewers won game 163, they forced the Cubs into a sudden death situation. In what would be one of the most epic games of all time, the Rockies upset the Cubs by winning 2-1 in the 13th inning of the NL Wild Card Game.
The Cubs saw that their starting rotation was a problem early on in the season. To have any chance at a postseason, they had to finish depleting their farm system in order to obtain Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers. Hamels definitely helped, but it wasn’t enough.
Adding Trevor Bauer to their rotation could re-solidify the Cubs as top dog in the NL Central. The problem is, who do they give up for Bauer. After last year’s trade deadline, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, reassessed every teams farm system. The Cubs had the 2nd to worst farm system in MLB.
Is Bauer to the Cubs likely? No. We have seen Theo Epstein overcome bigger obstacles before, however. So, don’t count the Cubs out.