Cubs show fight with Deadline reinforcements on the way

CHICAGO -- Dansby Swanson smirked when asked if he has been hopping online to see the latest trade rumors swirling around baseball. Standing at his locker at Wrigley Field on Monday afternoon, the Cubs shortstop could not deny that he has checked in on the rumblings in recent days.

“I mean, I do have a refresh button on my phone. It tends to get pressed,” Swanson said. “But there’s a time and a place, right? There’s a time to be on and looking at what’s going on around the league. There’s also a time to put it down and get your work done.

“Right now, I’m kind of in the mode of, ‘Put it down and get my work done.’”

The Cubs indeed have their work cut out for them in the wake of a 6-5 loss to the Reds, who sit atop the National League Central and boast a five-game lead over Chicago. The hard-fought defeat came after the Cubs learned shortly before first pitch that the front office swung trades to acquire third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Nationals and reliever Jose Cuas from the Royals.

This was a reward for Chicago’s players after their collective push to pull out of the cellar (10 games under .500 on June 8) and back into the October picture. With the seconds ticking down to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has signaled that the next two months are about finishing the ascent up the standings.

“Just an awesome run for this group,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said, “to put ourselves right back in the conversation and get some more players to help make a push. It’ll be very exciting to put the group together and make a run at this thing. I think that’s what all of us in this clubhouse really want, is to have a chance to go play for the division.

“And I think we have the guys in the room to do it. I’m excited that Jed and the front office are adding on.”

The biggest decision Hoyer and his staff made in recent days was to table the idea of trading their two best chips: outfielder Cody Bellinger and starter Marcus Stroman. Bellinger has been told he is officially off the market and manager David Ross showed his support for Stroman on Monday night, saying, “He’s a big part of this group, and a big part of our success moving forward, as well.”

That statement came after Stroman -- one of baseball’s top starting pitchers over the season’s first three months -- was pulled after yielding six runs in three innings to Cincinnati. That gave Stroman a 9.00 ERA in his last seven appearances, following a dominant run that saw him go 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA in the seven previous starts. The All-Star’s ERA on the season has climbed to 3.85 from 2.28 in that time period.

If the Cubs are going to get to the October stage, they need that ace-level Stroman to show up again. In the aftermath of his latest rough showing, the right-hander was absent from the clubhouse, where his teammates expressed faith that he will be primed for the stretch run.

“He’s been one of the best pitchers in the game,” Happ said. “A little bit of a rough patch, but he’s a professional. He works really hard between starts. He’s going to get it right, and we trust him being the guy at the front of the rotation. He’s been fantastic, and we know that he’ll be back in form.”

Added catcher Yan Gomes: “We’re working on it. Right now, it’s just take a step back and go back to what was working. And I’m sure, with his work ethic, he’s going to go out there and try to fix it.”

Ross noted Stroman’s impact on the moment at hand.

“Stro’s been a big part of our success and why we’re in the position we’re in,” Ross said, “being able to get guys that we just picked up at the Deadline.”

In his last start, Stroman walked off the mound with the Cubs trailing, 7-2, to the White Sox after four innings. The North Siders clawed back to pull off a wild, 10-7 victory. This time around, the Cubs were in a 6-1 hole in the third inning, but the bullpen (led by Javier Assad’s 3 2/3 frames) held the line while the lineup mounted a comeback.

The Cubs fell short in the end, but it was the kind of fight the team has displayed throughout the past few weeks, convincing the front office to use this Deadline to fortify the roster.

“We’re playing well,” Bellinger said. “We’re in the picture and we’re going to fight now, officially, for the rest of the year and try to win the division. That was our goal from the get-go.”