You have to take the good with the bad. As far as good news is concerned, the Chicago Cubs have a five-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and a 5.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race. There is also a growing belief that they will be active in the trade market, especially when it comes to pitching. The bad news is Jed Hoyer might be pulling the trigger a bit prematurely.
While appearing on Mully and Haugh on 670 The Score in Chicago, MLB analyst Bruce Levine touched on the notion that Chicago may be ultra-aggressive in the trade market for pitching and may acquire players over the course of the next two-to-three weeks. This caught co-host David Haugh completely off-guard. The MLB trade deadline is not for another month and change, so why act now?
Levine made it a point to say a few teams are dead in the water now and are ready to be picked apart.
“They’re not going to wait until the deadline to make a trade. They’re going to be proactive.”
Here is a clip from Levine's spot on Mully and Haugh, touching on Cade Horton and the trade market.
There is one massive problem with trading for a pitcher this early: He is not likely going to be an ace.
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Why the Chicago Cubs must be patient to wait for the market to develop
From afar, what seems to be carrying the Cubs is a strong offense, decent starting pitching and a makeshift bullpen that continues to defy all the odds. It may be a testament to manager Craig Counsell finally having a good feel for this team after a challenging first season coming over from Milwaukee. Hoyer has a reputation for doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants, so there is that.
The reason why I would argue for being patient is to really see who could be put on the trading block. Levine was right to point out the Cubs have one of the better minor-league systems in baseball. Hoyer must use that to his advantage. While teams like Colorado, Miami and even Arizona that were mentioned directly by Levine, others could and will emerge as well. Do not arrive early to the party.
In the years I have watched, followed and covered baseball, Chicago does as good of a job of anyone of catching lightning in a bottle and propelling the Cubs on a deep and exciting run into the postseason. Momentum is a real thing. When the Cubs are winning, they are frontrunners and few teams can stop them. This is why you cannot deal for anything less than a star at the trade deadline.
People may be beholden to prospects, but they never do anything for me; go out and get you a star!