MLB Rumors: Ohtani-Mets trade grade, Bieber surprise team, who will Cubs buy?
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Cubs could be buyers at the trade deadline
The Chicago Cubs, at least right now, consider themselves buyers at the trade deadline. That could all change, as Tom Ricketts suggested, but it’s a positive sign for a team that has sold off very talented assets the last few years.
“Obviously we’re buyers right now,” Ricketts said, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. “Things can come off the rails, but I don’t think they will. I think what we have is a core that can compete for the division and compete for the playoffs and now it’s finding the missing parts to add to it.”
That all sounds great on paper. Now, should Chicago buy instead of sell, who could they perceivably add?
That would mean Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger would remain on the team until the offseason, one would hope. The bullpen remains an area of need, as well as rotation depth.
Admittedly, the Cubs situation is fluid. Should they choose to sell, players like Stroman and Bellinger (along with other players in the final season of their contracts like Yan Gomes) could be on the move. Chicago would still have the option to re-sign said players in free agency, barring there were no hard feelings.
At this point in the year, most teams remain contenders. The deadline has yet to take shape, which is why Ricketts failed to make a definitive statement.