Cubs starting to upend things with roster move? Defense preserves a win and status quo for now
MILWAUKEE - There's still nearly a month to go before the MLB trade deadline arrives on Aug. 1. But it feels like preparations have begun for the Cubs.
They could have sent any number of relievers to Iowa on Tuesday to make room for hard-throwing right-hander Daniel Palencia, but they chose Hayden Wesneski to return to Triple A.
The explanation was Wesneski projects to be a starter long-term. So since the bullpen stabilized in June, they can afford to send him back down to get stretched out.
Is this because the Cubs expect to have an opening in the rotation by Aug. 1? Well, they are falling out of the race and have three veteran starters in Marcus Stroman, Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly who should be in high demand on the trade market.
The Cubs delayed the sell-off for at least one more day by pulling out a crazy 7-6 victory in 11 innings at Milwaukee on Tuesday.
With Palencia on the mound for his major league debut, left fielder Ian Happ threw runners out at the plate twice - once to stop the Brewers from winning in the 10th, then to clinch the victory in the 11th.
"That felt like there was a week's worth of action in that game," said Nico Hoerner, who drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th with an infield single.
Hendricks was excellent, allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings. The Brewers didn't collect their first hit until Owen Miller reached on a swinging bunt in the fifth.
There was both excitement and relief in the visiting clubhouse. This would have been a brutal loss after the Cubs led 6-2 midway through the eighth inning. Their top relievers, Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay, gave up 2 runs each as Milwaukee came back to force extra innings.
The Cubs were 1-6 since coming back from London, and they blew a 6-0 lead to the Brewers on Monday after losing in extras to Cleveland on Sunday.
"Great team effort," said manager David Ross, who was ejected in the top of the 11th. "To fight back after all we've gone through the last couple days. There's so much character in that room, I wish people at home could feel that."
Maybe this victory will set the Cubs on the right path, but they're still six games below .500 and didn't gain any ground on first-place Cincinnati in the NL Central.
"You don't want to act hastily," Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the contest. "I think when you look at a lot of underlying numbers, we absolutely should be in the division race right now. Now, that doesn't matter. They don't put a banner up based on your underlying numbers. We have to translate that into wins and losses, and we haven't done that well enough."
The last thing fans want to see is the Cubs trading away regulars for prospects, like they've done the past two years. Hoyer talked about the need to keep emotions out of the mix.
"I'm always going to make what I think is the right decision for the organization," Hoyer said. "Sometimes that is in the short term and sometimes that is in the long term. It's not about me, it's not about the fans.
"It's about what in my opinion and the opinion of my staff, what are we going to do that's in the best interest of this organization? In that regard, I think I am dispassionate. I want to do the right thing for the Cubs."
So while the Cubs may stay in the playoff race through the end of July, this is clearly not a championship-level team. With some depth in starting pitching, Hoyer may decide the best move is to try to get some help in other areas of need, like power hitting or more bullpen arms.
"There's a moment we have to make decisions," Hoyer said. "That moment's not today. That moment's not next week. But we're going to have to make decisions, and my hope is we can get to a place where we feel good adding to this team and where we add a couple pieces to it. But we have to play well to get to that place."
Twitteer: @McGrawDHSports