The Chicago Cubs are in a peculiar position as the all-important trade deadline begins to draw near.
On one hand, the Cubs have the lead in the National League Central at 46-31. But if the playoffs started on Monday, Chicago would have one starting pitcher they should feel confident sending to the mound in a postseason series.
And now that Matthew Boyd could be staring down a stint on the injured list with a bruised shoulder, the Cubs may not have time to wait. They're only up 3 1/2 games on the Milwaukee Brewers for the division lead, so they can't afford a hiccup.
That's why it's no surprise to hear an insider report that they might make a move before the rest of the league catches up.
On Monday, Cubs reporter Bruce Levine reported on 670 The Score that the Cubs are zeroing in on a specific starting pitching target, with a trade possible within the next week to 10 days.
"The Cubs are looking at adding that pitcher that we've been talking about," Levine said. "It appears they're getting closer to identifying some of these teams that are out of it that want to trade. So I wouldn't be shocked over the next week or ten days, much before the trading deadline, maybe as early as this week, that they make a move for another starting pitcher."
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Levine hadn't yet found out which pitcher the Cubs were bullish on, but claimed that was his top focus at the moment.
"It's more likely a guy that we can't all identify that's a good young veteran pitcher, and I'm working hard to try to identify that right now," he said.
Trade talks are always simmering behind the scenes, so one report isn't a guarantee that something happens. But tidbits this specific don't usually leak out unless something is at least moderately close to going through.
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