Cub Tracks’ sic transit gloria Monday

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, featuring material from current beat writers and bloggers. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball and attempt to distill the zeitgeist into a potent potable. Served ice-cold for your pleasure. Please enjoy immoderately.

As the trade winds blow, Cub Tracks weathers the storm in our own way. Monday was an off-day on the field but the work in the front office continued. Cub Tracks just wants it to be over, but the Cubs cannot afford to waste this opportunity. Circling the drain is one thing. Making us all cry is another. I have faith that Jed Hoyer and his team can get that done.

Not so much here in terms of text links. A bit of trade talk... plenty of tweets though. The trading deadline is tonight as evening sets in, 6 pm EST. Yesterday was madness. But it’s still not weird enough for me.

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• Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic {$}): What I’m hearing ahead of the MLB trade deadline. “It’s A.J. Preller’s world, and the rest of the baseball industry is just living in it.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Evaluating the Cubs’ trade deadline return so far. “... MLB-ready talent.”
• Greg Zumach (North Side Bound*): A [relative] cut above the rest: How the Cubs may be embracing gyrospin to limit hard contact. “The Cubs are in the midst of a pitching revolution.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): 6 pitchers who may make an impact for post-deadline Cubs. “... a few pitchers fans should get acquainted with.”
• Luke Parrish (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs need to focus on prospects, not big leaguers, in any trades. “Unless the Cubs are making an unexpected play for Juan Soto at the deadline, they should have their sights set on developmental pieces.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): No stranger to trade season, Drew Smyly ready for anything. “... he has been traded a few times already in his career...”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs trade workhorse reliever Effross to Yankees. “Cubs assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos was Wesneski’s pitching coach in Double-A in 2021...”(as has been previously mentioned) Also Wesneski.
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): What the Cubs’ Effross trade says about their direction at the deadline. “The Cubs have younger arms they hope to put in the bullpen as they try to build a competitive team for next season.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): The positives and negatives of Willson Contreras. “What he’s done for myself, I can’t even put words to it,” Hendricks said this past weekend.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Looming trade deadline weighs on Contreras. ‘I’m ready for this to be over with,’ the Chicago Cubs catcher says. “To be honest, this is the first time in my career that I’m in this position,” Contreras said. Patrick Mooney opines {$}.
• Mia Perlman (Cubbies Crib*): Dominic Smith is a throw-in piece, not a real trade return. “In the midst of a pretty underwhelming season at the plate, Smith is now on the IL.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Zach McKinstry joins the Chicago Cubs with a chance to be an everyday player — and a love of deep-dish pizza. “McKinstry grew up about three hours away in Fort Wayne, Ind., and made “a bunch” of trips to Chicago.” Tim Stebbins has a slice of this.
• Maura Johnson (ABC57*): Meet and greet with former Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood on August 31. “... at Four Winds Field on August 31 ahead of the South Bend Cubs game against the Lansing Lugnuts.”

Food for Thought:

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