Cubs await word of more trade activity PHOENIX — A large group of scouts already had filled two tables in the dining room at Chase Field when four more walked through the door about an hour before the Cubs’ game Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. ‘‘This is a big game,’’ one said with a smile. Two teams that entered the series in last place in their divisions put what was left of their wares on display for three days in the same showroom. It doesn’t get any bigger than that for would-be contenders in the two weeks between the All-Star Game and the non-waiver trade deadline July 31. And the players in the Cubs’ clubhouse feel it as acutely as they do the 108-degree temperatures in Phoenix, even in the relative quiet since the blockbuster trade July 4 that sent their top two pitchers to the Oakland Athletics. ‘‘It wouldn’t surprise anybody if something else happened,’’ said second baseman Darwin Barney, who might be on the brink of Cubs extinction with second-base prospect Arismendy Alcantara already on the roster and Class AAA prospect Javy Baez recently moved to second. ‘‘There’s a lot of time left [before the deadline] and a lot of teams that still want to [...] ilinnews/cubs-await-word-of-more-trade-activity-2/
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:01:06 +0000