NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs are four games under .500, eight games out of first place, and nothing seems to be going right for them. So naturally, the universe is delivering one its toughest stretches of the season. And for the Cubs, this stretch will most likely define the entire year.
Cubs Upcoming Schedule
The Cubs have twenty games scheduled between now and the All-Star break, and it is not a welcoming stretch.
Yep, that would be a West Coast road trip (never easy) followed by six games against two of the top-three teams in the National League – Phillies (51-26) and Brewers (45-33). And after a short reprieve against the Angels at Wrigley Field, the Cubs then end the first half with three games against the very good Orioles (49-28) followed by four games in three days against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
If the Cubs don’t suddenly and magically get a LOT better, this could be the stretch that officially ends the season.
Just consider some of the most likely possibilities:
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’d be definite sellers at the trade deadline – the 2023 Cubs were actually five games under at the break before buying at the deadline, and this Wild Card race is even closer than usual. But what exactly would we be holding onto at that point? Is the return of Ben Brown or Julian Merryweather or Jordan Wicks really going to be enough to keep this thing going? I don’t think so.
Of course, there’s the other problem of the Cubs not really having anything to sell. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have no-trade clauses. Cody Bellinger’s options make him a tougher sell than he should be. There are no relievers worthy of attention. And I can’t imagine the team wanting to trade any of its starting pitching, because most of it is young and/or under control.
So unless Jed Hoyer does something crazy, targeting players with multiple years of control/doing some of his offseason buying at the deadline (and I can’t think of anything less Jed Hoyer-y than that), this whole thing might sputter out in just a couple weeks.
So buckle up, because it’s pretty much now or never for the Cubs. They either step up and start winning – during their toughest stretch all year – or it all comes to an end with a whimper.
Bad, expensive, and nothing to sell. It’s really the worst of all words.
