Cubs rumored trade target would go against their best interest

There's a very obvious reason that MLB teams don't typically buy on rental players until the days and weeks directly before the deadline. You will rarely see a trade happen outside of the month of July. The exceptions are controllable All-Stars like Luis Arraez who was traded to San Diego earlier this year.

Which brings me to my next point.

Earlier this season, June 8 to be exact, I proposed the idea that the Chicago Cubs should begin looking at trades for the Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen. At the time, it made perfect sense. The Cubs' catchers were so bad offensively that they needed an upgrade and they were beginning to look like a lock to make the postseason, at least as a wild card.

Now, a month later, MLB insider Bob Nightengale is reporting that the Cubs do have interest in adding Jansen this season.

"The Chicago Cubs have expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen," Nightengale wrote.

But does it even make sense at this point?

Cubs-Danny Jansen trade makes almost no sense at this point

In short, no, a trade for Jansen doesn't make much sense at all for the Cubs anymore. But, Let me explain.

Yes, Miguel Amaya has still be horrendous this year, slashing .201/.266/.288 with a 56 OPS+, only slightly improved over his numbers a month ago. But Jansen has been even worse since the first trade proposal I pitched. Jansen slashed .129/.225/.177 in June and he's slashing .190/.320/.333 in July. These are unplayable numbers from the Toronto backstop.

With him hitting the way that he is, it's hard to call him an upgrade over Amaya, which is crazy to say given how bad Amaya has been this season.

The other factor is the Cubs might not even be competing for a postseason berth this season.

On June 8, Chicago has a 42 percent chance of making the postseason, per Baseball Reference. Now, Baseball Reference gives the Cubs just a 13 percent chance to crack the postseason.

Chicago has fallen off the rails, with Shota Imanaga coming down to earth following an otherworldly start to his big league career.

So the question can be asked. If Chicago might not compete this year, why would they risk their farm system for a rental catcher who's barely an offensive improvement over the 25-year-old they have? Just something to mull over.