adminThe American League’s Los Angeles Angels, National League’s Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres were among the teams at the crossroads of buyers and sellers ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.
A week before the deadline, the Angels were 52-49, the Cubs were 49-51, and the Padres were 49-53.
For the Angels, there was a lot of pressure from the media to trade two-hitter Shohei Ohtani and take on prospects to look to the future.
As for the Cubs, the general consensus was that they deserved to be in contention, despite a sub-5% winning percentage. In the NL Central, the consensus was that it was worth a shot. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds were in the thick of the race, but the Cubs had a chance based on run differential.
On July 26, with a 56-46 lead, Milwaukee’s run differential was -6. Cincinnati, a half-game back of Milwaukee, was -3. The Cubs, with a winning percentage of less than 5%, had a whopping +45 run differential. If the mound stabilized, the offense had enough power to turn the tables.
The club went on the buyer’s market and acquired infielder Jaime Candelario from the Washington Nationals for outfielder Cody Bellinger, who becomes a free agent after the season, and starter Marcus Stroman (currently on the disabled list).
The Angels and Padres also decided to be buyers and upgraded their pitching staffs with trades. What the Angels and Padres couldn’t give up was run differential. The Angels were +19 and the Padres were +52. The Angels, in particular, had a winning percentage of more than 5.
As of the 23rd, the Cubs, Angels, and Padres are all 180 degrees apart. The Cubs lost to the Detroit Tigers 6-8 on the day, but are still in the second NL Wild Card spot with a 65-60 record. The Padres are 6.0 games behind the third-place Arizona Diamondbacks. The postseason is effectively out of reach.
The same goes for the Angels. At 61-65, they’re a whopping 10.0 games behind the third-place Seattle Mariners.바카라사이트
The Cubs currently have the best run differential of any team in the NL wild card race at +64, higher than the first-place Philadelphia Phillies’ +51. The Padres are still at +58, but the lack of clutch play from their high-paid players and their weakness in close games has made it difficult for them to get back to 5 wins on the season.
It’s not over yet. The Cubs, however, are pleasing fans with their refusal to throw in the towel and look beyond August.