No one is saying that the Chicago Cubs are out of contention in 2017.
The defending World Series champions entered the All-Star break with a record under .500 at 43-45 and 5.5 games behind the surprising Milwaukee Brewers for the lead in the National League Central. At the break, they were 7.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for the second NL wild-card spot. Yes, this is an underachieving and underperforming team, but they are by no means out of striking distance for a spot in the playoffs.
To that effect, Thursday’s trade between the Cubs and their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox, makes sense for a team that rightly still considers itself in the hunt for October.