Cubs rumors: 3 biggest trade deadline mistakes they should regret
By Tim Boyle
2) Cubs rumors: Chicago unloaded a lot of relievers but not for much in return
The Cubs did end up unloading multiple relievers of theirs at the trade deadline. Scott Effross went to the New York Yankees. David Robertson went to the Philadelphia Phillies. Mychal Givens went to the New York Mets. Chris Martin went to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In return, the Cubs did help their farm system out a little bit. However, none of those deals were especially fantastic.
The Cubs did land Hayden Wesneski and Ben Brown—for Effross and Robertson respectively—who now become their 8th and 11th ranked prospects. It’s not bad. It’s also not particularly good.
Given the cost of relievers at the trade deadline, one should wonder if the Cubs could have possibly traded a pair to help out an ailing bullpen and gotten a little more.
The fact that they were able to trade away some bullpen arms does save them from having a completely failed trade deadline. They needed to seriously start rebuilding. While none of the trades they did make look guaranteed to result in an A+ deal, leaving this year’s MLB trade deadline without any terrific pieces on the level of last year’s Pete Crow-Armstrong acquisition does feel like a step in the wrong direction.
The Cubs get credit for trading players. We should have some doubts as to whether or not they got the best return.