A Pivotal Two Weeks Before the Deadline
There are roughly two weeks until the MLB Trade Deadline on August 3rd. Until then, the Cubs will play thirteen games against the Tigers, Pirates, Cardinals, and Yankees.
This stretch in the Cubs’ schedule will have significant effects on their roster for the rest of the season.
Any team’s place in the standings is a huge factor in their trade deadline activity, and Jed Hoyer confirmed that for the Cubs.
Hoyer told Marquee Sports Network:
“I’ve said a number of times I think you have to go into the deadline thinking about it analytically and you have to think about getting a bye is effectively winning a series and weakening your opponent in the next series.”
Jed Hoyer is hinting that if the Cubs were able to track down the Brewers, it could position them much better to win a World Series.
In the context of the trade deadline, the Cubs being in a place where they could pass the Brewers will most likely dictate the transactions made by the front office. This strategy makes sense but also emphasizes the next two weeks.
Jed Hoyer also mentioned on Marquee Sports Network:
“I think there’s so much uncertainty about who’s going to be buying, who’s going to be selling. There’s probably some team that’s talking about selling right now that ends up buying and vice versa. That’s because it isn’t tomorrow. It’s because we have, you know, almost three weeks until the deadline. And so, I expect things will gain clarity towards the very end when teams finally get to that point because there’s a lot of time and someone’s going to go on a heater before that.”
This once again shows how much the Cubs front office values the team’s performance heading into the deadline. While every game throughout the season is important, this next portion of the Cubs schedule certainly feels very significant.
With the second half of the season being a major part of what the Cubs could look like in a few weeks, they have started on the right foot against the Twins. After what started poorly with a game one loss, the Cubs scored sixteen runs in the final two games of the series to pick up wins on both Saturday and Sunday.
The way the Cubs’ offense succeeded was very encouraging to see.
The offense’s best hitter, Pete Crow-Armstrong, had only one hit in the three games, but the offense was still able to produce. The best part of the offensive contributions this weekend was Nico Hoerner, who finished the series with eight hits. In March and April, Hoerner was one of the most reliable hitters the Cubs had, with an OPS of .819 in those two months.
From May 1st through the All-Star Break, Hoerner had an OPS of .533. Cubs fans know the potential that Hoerner has, and seeing this surge to start the second half is very promising, especially since Pete Crow-Armstrong will inevitably find his groove again.
The Cubs are in a really good spot at fifty-six wins and forty-three losses with sixty-three games to go.
The trade deadline should be an exciting one, especially if the Cubbies keep winning.
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