JUST IN: Before adding the last player to their roster, the Chicago Cubs have acquired their desired target in a blockbuster trade for an estimated $180 million Ace, according to an ESPN report this morning. To what extent does a comercio work?

JUST IN: Before adding the last player to their roster, the Chicago Cubs have acquired their desired target in a blockbuster trade for an estimated $180 million Ace, according to an ESPN report this morning. To what extent does a comercio work?

Cubs president Jed Hoyer in 2021 watched his team fall from first place to nine games out in just two weeks and then made the decision to rip the Band-Aid off. It was a sell-off leading into a rebuild that he and owner Tom Ricketts swore wouldn’t be as extreme as the last rebuild.

And it hasn’t been. The Cubs went 71-91 in 2021 and then 74-88 in 2022 before returning to contention. That’s much better than the bottoming out that saw 101 losses in 2012. Of course, the last rebuild led to three straight NLCS, three NL Central titles and a World Series. Right now, the Cubs are owners of back-to-back 83-win seasons and the 2024 version was a moderate disappointment.

Is the build toward something bigger still on or are the Cubs stagnating? There sure doesn’t seem to be much urgency here.

As can be seen, the Cubs really aren’t losing much here in free agency. Smyly provided the most value last season as a lefty reliever who could get a little length while López was great in his stint. It was brief, though, and relievers are volatile by nature.

As can be surmised from the above free agents section, the Cubs can basically return with their 2024 team intact. Every single position-player starter is under contract, including Cody Bellinger, who exercised his player option. That means Miguel Amaya at catcher, Michael Busch at first, Nico Hoerner at second, Dansby Swanson at short, Isaac Parades at third and the outfield/DH spots going to Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki.

Under normal circumstances, continuity like this from a team with a winning record would be a positive, but they were only 83-79. They ranked 12th in runs, 17th in average, 10th in on-base percentage and 17th in slugging percentage. No one hit more than 25 homers. They were 21st in baseball in home runs as a team. This simply isn’t good enough.

The problem is this is a collection of either average or pretty good players with no stars. Some of them — Bellinger, Suzuki, Happ — are capable of playing like stars at times, but not at a superstar level for a full season.