MLB 2025: Do Cubs have a World Series-level roster? - ESPN

CHICAGO — There was plenty of buzz about the Chicago Cubs potentially making big moves at the MLB trade deadline, but the team ultimately opted for midtier improvements instead of a splashy addition.

That wasn't the case for some of Chicago's top National League competitors. The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and San Diego Padres all landed high-end closers while the Cubs traded for relievers Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge along with starter Mike Soroka — who is on the IL after leaving his first start in Chicago because of shoulder discomfort — along with utility man Willi Castro.

«It's hard when you see other teams you're competing with get really good players, but those aren't decisions you're making in the moment,» GM Carter Hawkins told ESPN. «Their decisions you're making over the course of the week and month. It takes some discipline, especially in a moment when you see things moving that way, but we were able to stick to our approach and felt really good about the adds we were able to make.

»Teams are trying to find that guy that can lock down the eighth or ninth inning but that also costs a lot. That costs a lot of future wins. We have a responsibility to the 2025 Cubs but also the 2032 Cubs. That's not always popular in the moment, but it's decisions we have to make."

So where do those trade deadline decisions leave the Cubs entering the stretch run? Is their current roster enough to keep up with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race? And do they have a championship-level team that can compete in a loaded NL come October?

We asked a panel of three MLB insiders — a coach, an executive and a scout — to assess Chicago's post-trade deadline roster.

The Cubs rank 14^th in starters ERA and how far they