Cubs president makes clear what team will do at trade deadline

Nov 13, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer speaks before introducing Craig Counsell as new Cubs manager during a press conference in Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer made clear on Monday what the team will be doing ahead of the trade deadline.

Hoyer told reporters that unless the team goes on a big winning streak this week, the Cubs will be sellers at the July 30 non-waiver trade deadline.

Cubs President Jed Hoyer made it official today: Barring a big win streak over the next week, anything the team does at the trade deadline will be to help them in future years.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 22, 2024

The Cubs entered play on Monday 48-53, which had them fourth in a NL Central. Though Chicago is 10 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first, only 5.5 games separate second from last place in the division. T

he Cubs entered Monday 3.5 games behind three tied teams for the third wild card spot. But just making it into the playoffs as a wild card team only guarantees you a 3-game playoff series and nothing more. The Cubs likely see that as a challenging path to experiencing postseason success.

The Cubs gave fans optimism to start the year. They had a winning record every day from April 2-May 28 and were even in first place in the division during May. But they went on a bad stretch later in the month when they lost five straight series to drop below .500.

Players like Cody Bellinger, Jameson Taillon, Tyson Miller and Ian Happ could be trade candidates. Justin Steele and Nico Hoerner would likely be attractive to other teams, but perhaps less likely to be dealt by the Cubs.