The 2024 Chicago Cubs were not supposed to enter the All-Star break trying to decide if they would be a buyer or a seller before the July 30th MLB trade deadline, but here they are. The combination of Jed Hoyer not doing enough to add to the team in the offseason, injuries, and underperformance across the roster have them right back in trade deadline limbo. It is inexcusable for the Cubs to be here. Heads should roll this offseason because of it.

With all of that being said, there is a way they can avoid the seller conversation – come out of the All-Star break on fire. The good news is they open the second half of the season with a six-game homestand. The first three games are against the Arizona Diamondbacks who are 2.5 games ahead of the Cubs in the standings. Chicago needs to take at least two out of three in that series, and their second series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

If they stumble out of the break, Hoyer will start to evaluate who on the current roster he can sell at the deadline. The issue here is that this roster was not built with the intention of selling. They have some guys that would be attractive to other teams but not like in years past. Two of their most attractive trade pieces, Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman, are currently hurt. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki would have to waive no-trade clauses to be moved. Jameson Taillon would probably be in demand because teams are always looking for starting pitching and Taillon has been pitching well. He would not bring that big of a return.

2024 was supposed to be the year the Cubs got back into the mix in the NL Central. Unfortunately, Jed Hoyer did not do enough during the rebuild to get the roster to the point where that is a reality. The Cubs can still sneak into a Wild Card spot if they can do enough between now and the deadline to keep Hoyer from shipping players out.