With the trade deadline passed, there is some peace of mind that follows for the Cubs.
They know the group they have for the final two months after only two players, Christopher Morel and Mark Leiter Jr., were subtracted from their roster. The Cubs begin August with their last series of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, who are trying to make a push for the playoffs.
There was plenty of turnover this week for the White Sox, who dealt six players before the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the team continued making history for all the wrong reasons on the field, ending July on a franchise-record 17-game losing streak.
“The best thing that happens in adversity is opportunity,” manager Pedro Grifol said after Wednesday’s 10-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. “And you want these guys to know, and they understand that yeah we’re going through it, and we’re 0-17 in the last 17 and they have an opportunity to take advantage. Get to the ballpark, bust your ass and give us your very best and what happens, happens.”
Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox. Want more? Sign up for our newsletters.
Breakout game gives glimpse of what Cubs could be
There haven’t been too many times this season, let alone since April, that the Cubs lineup put everything together and showed how dangerous the group can be.
The Cubs closed July with nine doubles in Wednesday’s win against the Reds, one shy of the franchise record. Two of those belonged to Isaac Paredes for his first hits in a Cubs uniform. The Cubs led the National League with 53 doubles in July behind only the Red Sox (66) in the majors. They have recorded two or more doubles in 10 of their last 18 games dating to July 10.
“It’s big deal, I mean obviously it’s just one win, but the number of hits and number extra bases, a lot of loud doubles,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Parades obviously to get going, he’s going to be a big part of the rest of this year and years to come, so it’s exciting.”
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made clear he expects to see improvement from the offense during the final two months, otherwise there rightfully will be questions about the group heading into the offseason. Paredes should play a key role in that, but the Cubs need more consistency from top to bottom. There have been flashes of that individually at varies points this season, but too often that hasn’t been enough.
“You look at the lineup that we rolled out on the last two days, I feel like on paper it’s the best version of us that we’ve had so far this year,” Hoerner said. “And I’m really excited to see what that looks like especially since it’s filled with guys that are going to be back in years to come as well. We’re going to make obviously the most of this year but it’s fun to see what that holds and I don’t think there’s really any reason to put ceilings on it.”
Sox pitcher Davis Martin has ‘awesome’ experience in return
Davis Martin made three starts for Triple-A Charlotte last season before undergoing Tommy John surgery that May.
The right-hander made his return to the majors Saturday, allowing one run in 2 2/3 relief innings against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“It was awesome,” Martin told the Tribune on Sunday. “Wanted to give a little more depth to our bullpen, that third inning (of relief work) got out of control pretty quick (allowing a run in the eighth).
“But just from an emotional standpoint, being out on that mound again, looking out to the scoreboard and taking a deep breath, like, holy crap, we’re here, we made it again, it was really cool. It was a lot of fun.”
Martin appeared in 14 games (nine) starts for the Sox in 2022, going 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA.
Speaking to reporters before Saturday’s outing, he said being back meant “everything.”
“It’s 14 months of hard work, it’s 14 months of long, sleepless nights in the Martin household,” he said. “It’s a lot of work my wife (Jenna) and I put together to get back to this point. It just means a lot. The fact that they’re here, my son’s here, it’s going to be a lot of fun to kind of live this life again.”
He struck out three, walked three and allowed three hits later that evening.
“Stuff was great,” Martin said Sunday. “It was exactly where I wanted it to be. Cal Raleigh and some of those guys had really good ABs, grinded it out and you’ve got to tip your cap at one point. A lot of things to learn from, but I love where my stuff is at, and I love where I’m at personally.”
Martin heads to the rotation after the Sox traded Erick Fedde. He’ll start Friday against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Number of the week: 5
The Sox have been swept five consecutive series as part of the losing streak. They were swept in three game series by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Royals (twice) and Seattle Mariners and a four-game series by the Texas Rangers. The streak started with a loss in the second game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins.
Tracking the White Sox’s record-setting losses
Record: 27-84
The Sox have the worst record through 111 games in franchise history. The previous mark of 36-75 occurred twice, most recently in 1948.
They’re on pace for 122 losses, which would eclipse the modern-day record of 120 set by the expansion 1962 New York Mets. The Sox record is 106, set in 1970.
With the current 17-game losing streak and a 14-game skid earlier this season, the Sox joined the 1911 Boston Rustlers, 1935 Boston Braves and 2021 Baltimore Orioles as the only teams in the modern era (since 1901) to record multiple 14-plus-game losing streaks in the same season, according to Elias.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Friday: vs. Cardinals, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Cardinals, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: vs. Cardinals, 6:10 p.m., ESPN
- Monday: vs. Twins, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: vs. Twins, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. Twins, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: off
As Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to get regular playing time in center field, his speed remains a standout asset.
Crow-Armstrong tallied his 20th stolen base in Wednesday’s win in Cincinnati, improving to 20-for-20 in attempts this season. He tied Hall of Famer Tim Raines (1981) for the third-most consecutive stolen-base attempts to begin a season by a rookie since 1951. Crow-Armstrong trails only Quintin Berry (21 in 2012) and Mitchell Page (26 in 1977). His stolen bases rank third among MLB rookies this year behind Boston’s David Hamilton and Washington’s Jacob Young, who are both tied for the lead with 26.
Crow-Armstrong has looked better at the plate over the last week. In his last five games entering Thursday, the 22-year-old was 6-for-18 with a double, triple and three RBIs.
“You’re kind of just filling Pete’s cup up continually, right?” manager Craig Counsell said. “And then you have to take things in and use the things that work for you and throw the things out that don’t work for you. But there’s certainly learning moments and learning opportunities.”
Week ahead: White Sox
- Friday: at Twins, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: at Twins, 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: at Twins, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Monday: at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., NBCSCH
- Tuesday: at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: at Athletics, 2:37 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: off
The Sox answered one question Tuesday in regards to Garrett Crochet, holding on to the left-hander at the trade deadline.
Now the question of workload for the rest of the season remains.
“Whether a workload conversation happens at some point, I imagine I’ll be involved in that,” said Crochet, who has pitched 114 1/3 innings. His previous high was 54 1/3 in 2021.
“But at the same time, I’d rather not be on the forefront making the call,” he said. “I want to go out there and pitch. And whenever I’m done, take the ball. Maybe I’ll be pissed, but I’d rather it that way than knowing what I’ve got going into the game and then I feel like I’m trying to be economical with my pitches, maybe throwing just trying to get out of an inning, trying to get a ground ball instead of blowing heaters like I typically would.”
His next scheduled start is Saturday against the Twins.
What we’re reading this morning
Quotable
“You realize how many different deals that are talked about and most don’t come together. … We did three deals, of course, we talked about many more. But that’s the nature of the trade deadline. Every team has that same thing, no one completes all their passes.” — Hoyer
