The Chicago Cubs look like a well-oiled machine as they sit atop the National League Central with a record of 14-10. The Cubs won their fifth series, with win number five coming against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which saw an exciting opening game.
There was no shortage of runs in the series, as the series saw a combined 37 runs scored, 24 of which came in game one. The Cubs after sending the Diamondbacks packing, will now look to turn their attention once again to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who come to Wrigley for a quick two-game series.
This series against the Dodgers will further test the Cub’s abilities to hang with the better clubs in the National League. They’ve proven capable thus far, going 8-6 against the NL’s top teams (10-7 if you throw in the Texas Rangers). The Cub’s success against some of the better teams in the National League hasn’t gone unnoticed, as their odds of winning the World Series keep increasing with every victory.
The Chicago Cubs are favored to win the World Series
MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs
The Cub’s success has helped them secure the best odds to win the World Series this year, with Marquee Sports Network reporting that Baseball Reference has them at a 17.6% chance to win it all. These odds are 3.9% higher than the San Diego Padres’ chances, who hold second place with a 13.7% chance to win it all.
The Cubs can be competitive to try and win a World Series, but the question is if they’ll add a big piece at the trade deadline to do so.
Adding at the trade deadline
The Cubs will need to be active at this year’s trade deadline to have any shot at making the playoffs and even the World Series. The Cubs have a strong enough offense, which is led by Kyle Tucker, who, if he can stay healthy, is looking like the National League MVP.
The one area of weakness for the Cubs is the starting rotation, which has been weakened with Justin Steele missing the rest of this season after having surgery on his elbow. Finding someone to replace him will be a hard task for Jed Hoyer, as he’ll likely have to pay a high price for someone as talented to replace Steele.
The Cubs could be players in the Sandy Alcántara or Pablo López sweepstakes at the trade deadline, but both will require at least two top 100 prospects to get a deal done. If the Cubs want to increase their odds of winning another ring, adding either of those high-level arms to pair with Shota Imanaga to give the Cubs a strong one-two punch will bring a World Series Championship back to Chicago.