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High-level internet research reveals that the Cubs in 2016 won 103 games and the World Series. They did so with a young, under-control core, and as such the expectation would be that the North Siders would remain a baseball juggernaut in 2017. Well, we're more than halfway through the regular season, and a glance at the current standings reveals that the Cubs are below .500 and 4 1/2 games behind the upstart Brewers in the NL Central. 

Peer a bit more closely, and you'll find that the Cubs seem to be in pronounced need of rotation upgrades and middle-relief depth. The rotation seems to be of particular concern. Right now, the Cubs rank eighth in the NL in starters' ERA, 12th in innings-per-start, and 13th in quality start percentage. 

Given those realities -- and given the Cubs' abundance of tradable young position players -- you'd think this would mean the defending champs would be targeting one or more needle-moving arms leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Well, perhaps you should think again. Here's this quote from team honcho Theo Epstein via Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times ... 

"This is largely the same club that averaged 100 wins a year over the last two years," Epstein said. "There's not a player we realistically can bring in from the outside that's going to spur us to play at that level. We're going to get to a point of playing at that level because of the guys who are here."

To be sure, Epstein doesn't say the Cubs will entirely sit out the trade deadline. Rather, he's saying that the team's best hope for improvement may be in showing patience and hoping that current roster plays up to its level. That's a reasonable tack and one that balances present shortcomings with mid- to long-term interests. 

The Cubs of course paid dearly to land Aroldis Chapman leading up to last year's deadline, but such a splashy addition may not be in the offing this time around. Developing, of course.