Winning The Trade Deadline Doesn't Matter

Trades at the Major League Baseball deadline do not make champions, championship teams are built during the off season and through development of young players. Good teams that need one or two players at the deadline and get them can make themselves a great team. By most measures, the Chicago Cubs became a better team at this year’s deadline by getting the players they needed. The problem is, the Cubs needed too many players at the deadline, and didn’t make their lineup more reliable. With a 64-49 record and being in the top wildcard position in the standings, the question of whether the Cubs were going to be buyers or sellers was settled six weeks ago. Injuries made acquiring pitching a must, but that also distracted from the Cub’s real need, which is that their lineup is not good enough to score runs against better teams. The real stat that stands out about the 2026 Chicago Cubs is that their record against teams that are .500 or better is 29-25. Contrast that to the Brewers who are…