Cubs players have avoided comparing this year to last, despite a similar ride from good first month, to extended funk, to pre-trade deadline urgency.
“I’ve just kind of been solely focused on what’s going on in the now, just focusing on where my feet are in the moment,” said left-hander Justin Steele, who has ridden that mentality to a 1.80 ERA in his last seven starts. “I haven’t really thought about last season too much.”
As much as it sounds like cliche and deflection, the Cubs’ dismissal of the question has merit. The Cubs’ situation is thornier now than it was this time last year.
Last season, the Cubs were built to compete within a weak division but had tradable contracts on the books as a backup plan. So, when the team was making its pre-deadline push, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had two viable options in front of him. He just had to commit when the time came.
This year, even though Hoyer has left open the possibility that the Cubs could trade away major-league talent, the question becomes, which players would the team be willing to part with that would also inspire a good return?
Relievers are always a commodity at the deadline, but the Cubs bullpen has been ravaged by the injury bug. Players like Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, who are under contract through 2026, have no-trade clauses. Trade rumors about second baseman Nico Hoerner have swirled, but would the Cubs really want to break up the up-the-middle foundation they’ve built?
Outfielder Cody Bellinger was the constant topic of trade rumors last season, when he was on a one-year deal. But his current contract would be much harder to trade. He has the power of choice in a three-year, $80 million deal that includes opt-outs after the first and second years.
“It feels like it’s a little different this year,” Bellinger said. “… Last year there was some good communication [with Hoyer.] It kinda was understood where we were all at. And I expect the same this year if it does come to that.”
The trade deadline would be much more straightforward for the Cubs, who entered their game against the Phillies on Wednesday five and a half games out of the last NL Wild Card spot, if they could go on a run to reposition themselves as contenders looking to add.
To do that, of course, the Cubs (39-47) would have to break out of the cycle they’ve been stuck in for the last two months.
While last season ended in disappointment, can the team’s comeback from 10 games under .500 to a bonafide contender at the trade deadline inform the Cubs’ efforts now?
“You’ve got to take into consideration the different situation we’re in right now,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “And a lot of the guys are in different grooves. But we’re just trying to find ways to get the win. We’re still searching for what’s going to make us click. And I know we’re going to find it.”
So, no, there may not be any lessons to carry over. Last year, Bellinger returned from the IL in mid-June and went on an offensive tear, hitting .338 with a .937 OPS over the next three months. And the inexperienced bullpen settled into roles and a groove. There may have been some secret sauce to go with those two trends, but they had a large hand in the mid-season turnaround.
Now, while the Cubs are expecting a “significant” group of pitchers back after the All-Star break, that’s still weeks away. And no offensive savior is waiting in the wings.
The Cubs have had plenty of internal conversations about how to get out of their rut. Manager Craig Counsell has made some tweaks to the lineup. The rotation has continued to perform, but a lack of situational hitting and bullpen depth continues to sink the Cubs series after series.
So, the Cubs keep searching for something to disrupt the pattern. Answers won’t be found in 2023. If they were hiding there, the team would have already found them.