Former Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein talks importance of trade deadline impact

The Chicago Cubs have worked through every hurdle and gut check thrown their way and have still managed to emerge from the All-Star break as a playoff-level team, currently in the top NL Wild Card spot and twelve games over .500.

More News: Chicago Cubs urged to avoid this temping trade target

But, realistically, the patchwork pitching staff the team is currently fielding won’t get them very far into the postseason, if it doesn’t completely collapse on them before even getting there.

Injuries have decimated both the starting rotation and the bullpen and, other than the hope of a healthy return for a couple of arms, there’s no cavalry riding in to save Cubs pitching.

So, this season, the August 3 MLB trade deadline has taken on an exaggerated level of importance.

By consensus opinion, Chicago needs to walk away from the deadline with, at least, a front-of-rotation starter, a rotation-capable swingman, and at least a couple of dependable relievers.

Last season, in a similar pitching-minded spot, Cubs president Jed Hoyer and the front office failed to bring in an impact arm at the deadline. The end result saw a gritty, tough Cubs team battle its way to the second round of the playoffs before collapsing, in great part, due to a pitching deficiency.

Some critics are already anticipating a Cubs letdown at the deadline and voicing their concern over letting another special season go to waste by an unwillingness to pull the trigger on a big trade. They argue about just how much an impact acquisition would not only fill in a gaping roster hole, but also energize the team to keep pushing forward.

Theo Epstein on the importance of a trade deadline impact

Aroldis Chapman, Chicago Cubs — Nov 2, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws a pitch against the Cleveland Indians in the 8th inning in game seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA talks up his plan to dethrone Ohtani as MVP

In a recent appearance on The Lovable Reunion podcast with David Ross and Anthony Rizzo, former Cubs president talked about the steep price he paid to acquire Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline in 2016 and how, ultimately, it helped propel the team to its first World Series win in 108 years.

“From the outside looking in, or if you take just a purely analytical look at baseball, you don’t understand the impact that it has in the clubhouse,” Epstein recalled. “These guys have done all their offseason work, grinded all of spring training, put the nuts on the line the whole season. And then they look at the front office like, ‘You guys have one f***ing job! Get us what we need.’

“I’ve been through years where you just can’t get it. Because you’re asking to be paid like five times the prices. You just can’t do it, and you feel like you just let everybody down. So take it very personally as an organization: We need to deliver.

“We’re not going to always mortgage the future, but we have to do our job and give these guys what they need, because it gives you that boost of energy. And then you feel connected, like, ‘Hey, they have our back. All the sacrifice was worth it.’ It has an amplifying effect.

“That was a deal that — I would have mocked it if someone else did it.”

“No one’s gonna beat us!”

Nov 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (left) and first baseman Anthony Rizzo (right) hold the Commissioner’s Trophy during the World Series victory rally in Grant Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, the trade paid off. It fueled an already highly-motivated team to push even harder for a championship.

Rizzo, in an appearance on the Glory Daze Podcast last year, affirmed what Epstein felt to be true about the jolt such a move gives to a team—and, conversely, how much of a buzzkill it is when the team fails to make that big trade.

“We were in 2016 and we were the best team and then we go out and get the best closer, Aroldis Chapman. And we’re just like, ‘Holy sh*t, no one’s gonna beat us,’” Rizzo said.

“And then there’s years where we’re in that same position and they don’t give us that boost…In the clubhouse, you’re like ‘What are we doing?’ And it’s no disrespect to the guys they bring in…There have been years where there are guys out there that we know we can go get that the front offices don’t align or what not. But when you get that big piece it’s [a huge shot in the arm].”

Time will tell how this year’s trade deadline plays out.

The post Former Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein talks importance of trade deadline impact appeared first on ChiCitySports.