With no big trades yet, Cubs get through West Coast trip vs. National League powerhouses

SAN DIEGO — The Cubs weren’t dragging at the end of their West Coast trip.

The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” blasted from the sound system inside Petco Park’s visiting clubhouse Wednesday morning. Three hours before first pitch, Pete Crow-Armstrong played a Golden Tee arcade game with Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch and Gage Workman. The day after a night game, the room was bustling with conversations, laughter and activity.

Vibes can be fleeting over a 162-game season. In fact, the Cubs went out and got beaten by the San Diego Padres in a 4-2 loss. The pregame scene stood out, though, because players weren’t all scattered in different areas or silently staring at their phones. That energy could be seen throughout this Southern California swing, where the Cubs split two series against the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, perhaps the National League’s two best teams.

Matching that sense of urgency will be the challenge for Jed Hoyer’s front office. Demoting rookie third baseman Matt Shaw to Triple-A Iowa after 68 plate appearances showed that production matters more than development. Aggressively churning through relievers until something clicks will be part of the trial-and-error process. And the July 31 trade deadline looms even larger now that All-Star pitcher Justin Steele is headed for season-ending surgery on his left elbow and forearm.

“We have to deal with it,” Hoyer said. “Of course, we’re going to make phone calls on trades. Of course, we’re going to be open. But it’s also April, and those (deals) are unusual. Right now, our biggest focus is internally, just making sure that guys are throwing well and that we can withstand (things) from within.”

The Cubs handled it at Dodger Stadium, where the defending World Series champs scored five runs in three games and lost a series in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow lined up for starts. Cubs manager Craig Counsell and his coaching staff will have to continue piecing it together because rival front offices aren’t open for business yet.

The Miami Marlins, for example, are expected to be patient with Sandy Alcantara, trying to exert maximum leverage. Alcantara, a Cy Young Award winner who’s under club control through the 2027 season, looks like he will be the best starter available this summer, when virtually every contending club will attempt to acquire pitching.

“Is there anyone actually truly available?” Hoyer said. “For the most part, teams are just going to say: ‘We’ll wait until July, at least, when we have a bigger market and more teams involved.’ It’s just hard this time of year to get (deals done). I would also say there’s just not that many sellers right now.”

In the meantime, the Cubs will continue searching externally for more depth, knowing it will be hard to find clear upgrades at the moment. The organization will have to rely on the overall strength of its 40-man roster and rework the bullpen on the fly.

The offense will go up and down for six months, but it will be anchored by Tucker, one of the best hitters in the game and a missing piece from the last few seasons. The Cubs are still running wild with 29 stolen bases in 21 games and an 88% success rate, trying to establish themselves as a team that opponents find annoying.

The defense should be consistently better than the sloppy moments that happened in San Diego. When the Cubs have a lead, Counsell goes to a reliable late-game formula with relievers Julian Merryweather, Porter Hodge and Ryan Pressly. Above all, the Cubs did not look out of place on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” or in front of the sellout crowds at Dodger Stadium and Petco Park.

“The whole narrative is that these are the two best teams in the West,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I don’t think recently we’ve earned that to be a part of that group yet. (But) in this clubhouse, we feel like we are a part of that group. We’re not too happy about how this series ended. Some missed opportunities here and there.

“We enjoy coming out here and playing these teams because of how talented they are, and how deep they are, and getting to showcase why we feel like we are just as equally deep and talented as them.”

The Cubs won a 10-inning game Tuesday night to give the Padres their first home loss this season. Even Wednesday afternoon’s loss — a one-run game in the eighth inning until newly promoted lefty reliever Luke Little walked Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded — fit into Counsell’s vision of a team that is simply hard to beat.

Looking ahead, the Cubs believe these challenges will pay dividends, from the team-bonding elements of the Tokyo Series to dealing with the barrage of noise at Dodger Stadium. Petco Park posted huge weekday attendance numbers — 47,078, 42,492, 41,562 — as fans streamed in to watch Dylan Cease pitch and see Tatis and Manny Machado perform.

“Definitely some extreme environments in the best way,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Close games, big moments, our group benefits from just having that experience. It’s also a good way of stacking up and testing your group. Facing some of the better arms in the game, some of the best teams on the road, it’s a really good indicator.”

Another telling indicator was Counsell’s showing his irritation with how the eighth inning unfolded in Wednesday’s loss. Framed by a blue TV backdrop, Counsell stood outside the visiting clubhouse and rattled off parts of Little’s outing: “We walked the wrong hitters in situations that are good matchups. You can’t do it on a day when they pitched well. We walked (Jason) Heyward left-on-left. We walked (Gavin) Sheets left-on-left. We walked (Tyler) Wade twice. Those are going to hurt you.”

Instead of being satisfied with going 3-3 against the Dodgers and Padres, the manager felt as though it could have been a 4-2 trip, which is another sign of raised expectations. After enjoying an off day in Chicago, the Cubs will be back in their Wrigley Field clubhouse, preparing for Friday’s 1:20 p.m. first pitch.

“We did make ourselves a hard beat,” Counsell said, “but you’re also frustrated because you feel like there was another game out there we could have won.”

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