It wasn't a matter of if, but who, when it came to the Chicago Cubs' pursuit of a playoff-caliber starting pitcher ahead of this week's high-stakes trade deadline. At least, that's what all the rumors indicated in the weeks and days leading up to Thursday.
Instead, the Cubs settled for another bounceback candidate in Michael Soroka (and by several accounts, overpaid even for that) and called it quits, refusing to meet the high asking prices of several front offices around the league and bet on Soroka and the returns of Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad to carry the team deep into October.