Jed Hoyer wasn't alone in not meeting the sky-high asking prices on controllable front-end starting pitching at this week's trade deadline. None of the big names changed hands. Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera stayed put in Miami, MacKenzie Gore is still in D.C. and, even after watching the roster around him absolutely decimated via fire sale, Joe Ryan is left standing in Minnesota.
But the Chicago Cubs were in a unique situation heading into Thursday. They had the second-best record in the league, but also put themselves in a 'win now' situation given what they gave up to pry Kyle Tucker away from the Astros last winter.