The Cubs roster is expected to look a little different by the next time they play at Wrigley Field on Thursday.
With the trade deadline Tuesday, the Cubs aren’t expected to bring in players on expiring contracts to help the 2024 roster, instead focusing on talent that improves them for next year.
All eyes will be on the White Sox as the deadline nears. Starters Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde, center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and outfielder Tommy Pham are among the players mentioned in trade speculation.
Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox. Want more? Sign up for our newsletters.
Cubs balancing big-league development with trying to win
A key part of today’s game for the most successful organizations is finding ways to integrate and aid prospects’ transition to the majors smoothly and helping contribute to wins.
The Cubs have seen this season how well that can — Michael Busch, Porter Hodge and Ben Brown — and can’t — Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya — work when a team is trying to get younger players big-league experience while also in win-now mode.
“That’s only going to get more challenging,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week. “On the pitching side we’ve done it with a lot of young arms, there’s a lot more guys are fairly close in the minors that I think are going to impact us that we’re going to have to break in. I don’t think that ever stops. You’re going to have to win with young players while they go through those struggles and find a way to balance those things out.
“Obviously getting at or above projection performances out of your veteran guys sort of helps mitigate that a lot. And that hasn’t happened to a certain extent and I think that’s part of our struggles.”
The successes the Cubs have seen will help shape the roster in 2025. It appears they have found their everyday first baseman in Busch, while Hodge has seized high-leverage opportunities and Brown has shown he can thrive in the rotation or bullpen.
That doesn’t mitigate the concerns and questions surrounding players such as Crow-Armstrong and Amaya. Crow-Armstrong’s defense in center field and speed on the bases have an impact on winning games, but the Cubs need more than the .183/.234/.297 slash line he has produced through 192 plate appearances in 65 games.
Amaya has looked better at the plate since getting a couple of days on the bench to refine his swing and stance. In nine games (seven starts) since then, Amaya is 11-for-21 (.524) with four walks and only two strikeouts. The Cubs need to see more of that over the final two months and get a better understanding of whether they can count on Amaya to receive the majority of playing time behind the plate next year.
“When players enter a situation when that pressure isn’t there, I think it might be a little bit easier, but that’s not going to be an option,” Hoyer said.
Brooks Baldwin adjusting in first major-league look
Second baseman Brooks Baldwin is adapting to speed at the major-league level.
“The biggest difference to me is the balls they put in play playing defense,” he told the Tribune on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. “Most of the guys, they hit it harder than what you see down in the minor leagues.
“All the plays I’ve made, ground balls, have been hit pretty hard.”
Baldwin said the key is “slowing yourself down and slowing your feet down and creating better angles for yourself and getting good hops.”
“It’s the same game,” Baldwin said. “It’s getting to balls a little quicker and making good throws.”
Baldwin arrived from Triple-A Charlotte when the Sox returned from the All-Star break. He is 2-for-21 with two walks and one RBI in seven games.
“Offensively, it’s just settling in and recognize and know that you’re facing against the best guys in the world,” Baldwin said. “It’s not trying to do too much. Just trying to put the ball in play on the line, on the ground hard.”
Baldwin collected his first hit in his first major-league at-bat, a single on July 19 against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
He added his first RBI on Monday, driving in Andrew Vaughn with a single in a 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.
“I was just sitting on fastball like normal and saw a decent pitch to hit and was able to put a good swing on it,” Baldwin said of the RBI hit. “First pitch of the at-bat. Just put a good swing on it and I was able to get an RBI there. It was awesome.”
Baldwin said his teammates have helped with the adjustment.
“They’ve given me a lot of good advice and I’ve taken it to heart,” Baldwin said. “I continue to walk around, keep my ears open and listen.”
Number of the week: 10
The Sox suffered their 10th consecutive defeat Wednesday. It marked the first time in franchise history they have had multiple losing streaks of 10-plus games in the same season. The streak extended to 11 on Thursday with a 2-1 loss to the Rangers.
They lost a single-season franchise record 14 straight from May 22-June 6.
Tracking the White Sox’s record-setting losses
Record: 27-78
The Sox have the worst record after 105 games in franchise history. The previous mark of 36-69 occurred twice, most recently in 1948.
They’re on pace for 120 losses, which would match the modern-day record set by the expansion 1962 New York Mets. The White Sox record is 106, set in 1970.
With Thursday’s defeat, they became just the ninth team in Major League Baseball history to lose 78-plus times in the first 105 games of a season.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Friday: at Royals, 7:10 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: at Royals, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: at Royals 1:10 p.m., Marquee
- Monday: at Reds, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: at Reds, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: at Reds, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: vs. Cardinals, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
As the Cubs approach the trade deadline and determine how heavily they want to reshape the roster before Tuesday, they are staying on rotation.
That sets up veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon to make his next start Monday, but with the potential of him getting moved, whether he starts that game will be a good indicator of his future with the team. It’s not the position the Cubs want to be in to shift their focus to adding players who will help them in 2025 and beyond, but that’s their reality after going 21-34 between May and June.
“You are what your record says you are and we struggled for those two months,” Hoyer said. “There’s no reason to think that with the right additions that we won’t be right where we thought we were going to be going into this year, if not even a little bit further along because the young players are further along.”
Week ahead: White Sox
- Friday: vs. Mariners, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: vs. Mariners, 6:15 p.m., Fox-32
- Sunday: vs. Mariners, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Monday: vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Tuesday: vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: vs. Royals, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: off
The countdown continues toward the trade deadline. Sox players are going about their business as speculation swirls.
“We have to play for each other,” infielder Paul DeJong said Monday. “With all the unknowns, have to look around the room and say this is our team today and find a way to win as a group, pull for each other and not be thinking about something else but really lock in for three hours in this game.”
Manager Pedro Grifol recalled being at Globe Life Field at last year’s trade deadline when the Sox dealt Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins.
“That was a tough one for all of us,” Grifol said Tuesday. “But I don’t focus on the trade deadline, it’s not what we do. We can’t control anything in this clubhouse to what happens out there as far as deals. But what I know is making trades nowadays is really hard. It’s really, really hard. And the players we have that people are coveting are really good players.
“To make a trade for really good players is really, really hard. And it has to work for both sides.”
What we’re reading this morning
- 3 takeaways from the Cubs’ series loss to the Brewers, including more offensive futility
- GM Chris Getz says White Sox are ‘very open-minded’ as the trade deadline nears
- Mallory Swanson’s return to the Olympics caps an arduous journey for the Red Stars and USWNT star
- Dylan Cease throws the 2nd no-hitter in Padres history in a 3-0 win over the Nationals
- White Sox fall to 50 games under .500 with their 10th consecutive loss: ‘It has been very hard for everybody’
- Column: Cubs’ virtual White Flag on the 2024 season puts the heat on President Jed Hoyer
- What stands out about Hagen Smith? White Sox pitching adviser breaks down the draft class.
- As the MLB trade deadline nears, a rolling Cubs bullpen could be forced to get a makeover
- White Sox agree to terms with 20 draft picks, including 1st-round selection Hagen Smith
- Cubs President Jed Hoyer prepares to look ahead to 2025 — and beyond — at MLB trade deadline
- Nick Senzel sees ‘opportunity’ with the White Sox to rebound after getting released in Washington
- Column: A fan at Wrigley Field displayed a profane political message. Is it anything goes in 2024?
Quotable
“Pedro, he and the staff, they work tirelessly. I know they’re frustrated with the outcome of these games and their record. They continue to stay at it. The message I conveyed to the staff is they need to continue an environment for these guys to get better. There’s parts of the team to feel good about and parts we don’t feel good about. And we certainly need to see progress in all of these areas. I know they’re staying at it, they’re focused, but we certainly need to start seeing progress as the season comes to an end in the next couple months.” — White Sox GM Chris Getz
