There was a point in time when the Chicago Cubs were well on their way to their first postseason berth since 2020. They were approaching three weeks of baseball playing sub-.500 teams in the league. What they didn't account for was being one of those sub-.500 teams.
The Cubs played like they were the slumpbusters for their opponents. They made these on-the-bubble teams look like world-beaters. The only series the Cubs have won since Mother's Day Weekend were a two-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and two out of three against the San Francisco Giants. Every other team took advantage of the Cubs being a mess.
When the Cubs first began to falter, there were three main areas on the roster that many believed they could be players on the trade market to fix. They had obvious needs in the bullpen, were desperate for a boost at catcher, and needed all the power they could find.
A series of call-ups, send-downs, and DFA acquisitions have amounted to no real fix in the bullpen. The Cubs swapped out veteran catchers to try to spark that position. To this point, nothing has been done about adding power.
The 2024 season is now over halfway completed, and the Cubs are 10.5 games out of the NL Central division. While still in the hunt for a playoff spot via a Wild Card berth, they are now on the short end of tiebreakers with just about every contending team. Obviously, the narrative has shifted.
Whether the Cubs will be buyers, sellers, or stayers at the deadline is still to be determined. But the league isn't going to wait around to see what their plan is. Some names the Cubs have been linked to are beginning to be linked elsewhere.
Cubs Now Less Likely To Strike Deals With Needed Upgrades
The Cubs have done nothing to prove they are contenders. Other teams have made strides to prove they're no pretenders. Because of this, other teams have catapulted themselves as favorites to land trade targets once taylormade for Chicago. As the Cubs continue to struggle, a move becomes increasingly less likely.
Elias Diaz of the Colorado Rockies was once an obvious fit for the Cubs at catcher. However, he is now linked to the Cleveland Guardians, who hold the American League's best record. Tanner Scott, relief pitcher for the Miami Marlins, will be a hot name on the market. The New York Yankees are at the top of the list of teams expected to make an offer for him. Now that the Mets have rolled through opponents the last couple weeks, including the Cubs, the New York Mets are more inclined to hang onto him to make a push for the playoffs.
The Cubs are seemingly being forgotten about as a team that could add players at the deadline and make a run. There are more predictions of ways they can sell at the deadline rather than buy. That's what a bad June (and May) can do to a team.
