COLUMN: It's August; Cubs are sellers again

   Just like last year, the Cubs are in the process of dismantling by trading the few good players they have in hopes of landing prospects as they rebuild for the future.

   We all saw this take place last season when Cub favorites were dealt away at the trading deadline. Rizzo, Baez, Schwarber and Bryant. It made sense but peeved off a lot of Cub fans.

   Just for giggles, I thought I would look up the stats of these four guys: Rizzo is batting .228 with 25 HR and 62 RBI and 67 K’s. Baez is batting .221 with 10 HR and 39 RBI. He has 86 K’s. Schwarber is batting .204 with 33 HR and 66 RBI. He has struck out 132 times. Bryant has been injured for quite a long stretch appearing in just 42 games. His stats read .306/5/14 along with 27 K’s.

   None of these players are lighting the world on fire for their new teams. Schwarber made the All-Star team but those 132 strikeouts make me just shake my head. One could make an argument that Rizzo has done the overall best in Yankee pinstripes.

   Now the Cubs are rumored to be shopping C Wilson Contreras and OF Ian Happ. If the Cubs are in a rebuilding mode, in my opinion, don’t depart with one of the best catchers in baseball. Catchers that can hit as well as Wilson are rare. Let’s build the next team around him instead of shipping him off.

   One can also argue that the Cubs are 5-7 years out from contending and by then Wilson will be considered a fossil at his position. Then again Yadier Molina has 18 seasons in him although he’s been hurt most of this year.

   So as a Cub fan, when can we expect this team to start competing? I just mentioned 5-7 years based on absolutely no knowledge of the farm system. I know there are some young arms in the organization. I’m not really up on where their prospects are rated.

   The Ricketts family has deep pockets, the payroll can’t be that high anymore. The fans that keep appearing at Cub games deserve better than what they are getting. I like a few of the current guys on the roster: Wisdom, Schwindel and Morel are fun to watch. I’m not sold yet on Suzuki.

   I would like to hear what other Cub fans think about the state of this team. Are you on board with the rebuild? Is the Ricketts family going to be able to compete? Is manager David Ross the right guy? Who are the next superstars in the Cubs minor league system?

   Feel free to email me your thoughts at: advertising@monticelloexpress.com.