The Cubs’ deadline trajectory has been an oft-discussed topic over the past few weeks, with the team sitting at or near the bottom of the NL Central but also within striking distance of the final NL wild-card spot. The Cubs have ostensibly explored possibilities on both ends of the buy/sell spectrum, showing interest in Toronto catcher Danny Jansen while also reportedly talking with both the Yankees and Red Sox about the potential of a Jameson Taillon trade. The Cubs dropped their first two games coming out of the All-Star break to a D-backs team that’s now tied for the final wild-card spot, though they dodged a sweep in an extra-inning win Sunday.
While the Cubs are 3.5 games out in the wild-card hunt, the latest report from Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic indicates the Cubs aren’t planning to be buyers at next week’s trade deadline. That’s not an indication there’ll be any kind of prominent fire sale for the Cubs either, however.
Chicago hopes to contend next year and isn’t likely to move players who are under control unless it receives big league-ready talent in return. As for the Cubs’ slate of rental players, there’s simply not much to peddle to other clubs. Drew Smyly is sitting on an impressive 2.
92 ERA in 37 relief innings, but he’s also walked 10.2 percent of his opponents and is playing on a contract other teams will want to avoid. Smyly is owed the balance of an $8.
5M salary for the current season (about $3.2M) in a.