Cub Tracks tanks for nuttin’

Trade them all, we hear nobody actually say, but it’s in the air. Break up the core, scatter the golden apples of the sun to the four corners of the Earth. Gather all the young arms that they may raise them in victory one day, for surely the desire for pure profit and the desire for athletic achievement can meet somewhere for drinks and light conversation. Kreskin can’t be the only happy medium and anyway he isn’t under team control. KB made SI.

Sad times, fellow Cubs fans. We face a future where the only certainty is that we’ll pay an arm and a leg through the nose. No matter what the solution is, it’s bound to be too expensive. Hopefully Jed can Hoyer the Cubs out of their sick bed, get them back on their feet, and lead the squad back to the yellow brick road, if not El Dorado.

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• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Drafting Kris Bryant, passing on Justin Verlander: Theo Epstein’s best, worst moves.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Thinking back on the very first trade of the Theo Epstein Era – it was not good. Ian Stewart, anyone?
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): What Jed Hoyer brings to the table as Cubs usher in new era. “Hoyer spent two years as the top guy in baseball operations with the San Diego Padres before coming to the Cubs in the fall of 2011 when Epstein took over the Chicago front office.”
• Michael Ernst (Cubs Den*): Cubs add 3 players to 40-man roster; Sign 7 MiLB free agents this week. “The next deadline to keep an eye on comes December 2nd ...”
• Grey Papke (Larry Brown Sports*): Report: Cubs could trade multiple stars this offseason. “According to Mark Feinsand ...”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Hunter Renfroe would give Cubs lefty masher they desperately need. “Renfroe was just DFA’d by Tampa.”

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.