The Chicago Cubs are mired in a 10-game losing streak. They became the first team since 2017 to feature multiple 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak in the same season. Chicago can take solace in the fact that the last team to do it won its league pennant.
Despite the horrific losing streak, one MLB insider doesn’t believe it will alter their deadline plans. On a live stream with Bleacher Report, Jon Heyman said that the Cubs will remain buyers.
“They are not going to be a seller as the Mets are and the Red Sox could be,” said Heyman. “The Cubs are going to be a buyer.”
Jon Heyman Lists Cubs as Buyers Despite 10-Game Losing Streak
During their 10-game losing streak, the Cubs saw the National League Central slip away. They’ve been passed by the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds in that time period. If the season were to end on May 27, Chicago would be watching the postseason.
It’s worth noting that the season has only gotten to its one-third point. There are still 107 games left to play, so plenty of opportunities to right the ship.
The Cubs are 29-26 and enter their game against the Pirates only half a game out of a playoff spot, thanks to the Brewers’ 2-1 defeat of the Cardinals. Right now, their sole focus is to put that 10-game losing streak in the rearview mirror and reset.
As Heyman notes, there isn’t much the Cubs can add offensively.
“They may have to live with what they are, which is a great defensive team, an average hitting team who’s in a slump right now, and that’s the way it’s going to have to be. And they’ll go after Skubal or whomever to bolster their rotation, which hasn’t been great in the 10-game losing streak.”
Cubs Named as No. 1 Team to Land Tarik Skubal
As the Cubs look to regain ground in both the National League, the obvious need to address is the starting rotation.
“They are missing their ace in [Cade] Horton; he’s out for the year, as we know,” said Heyman. “They may look at offense, but they got a great defender at every position. I’m not sure how they improve the lineup on the field.”
The club is also without Justin Steele, Matthew Boyd, and Edward Cabrera. Boyd (meniscus) and Cabrera (blister) should be back before the All-Star break, while the news on Steele is a bit mixed. The left-hander experienced a setback from an internal brace procedure, but recently progressed into the next step of his rehab.
With the need to bolster the rotation, they need to make a big move that changes the direction of their season in one fell swoop.
One such option to improve their rotation is Tarik Skubal. The Detroit Tigers ace is quickly recovering from a procedure to remove loose bodies in his elbow. But with the left-hander increasingly likely to return before the deadline, he should be a more attractive trade target if the Cubs want to go all-in on this team.
Heyman named the Cubs “the No. 1 team for Skubal”.
Trading for Skubal would require a significant commitment from the Cubs. Not only in dollars, as the left-hander has a $32 million salary for the season, but also in prospects. To get 10 starts from the reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, they’ll have to part with a lot of young talent.
The Cubs are already past the first threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax. Cots Contracts has Chicago’s CBT payroll at $249.7 million. Adding Skubal will push them north of $260 million, plus other deadline acquisitions would push them past the second penalty threshold.
The Skubal situation will test how much Tom Ricketts and Cubs ownership are willing to commit to this team.
MLB Insider Lists Cubs as Deadline Buyers Despite Big Losing Streak