Cubs don't like offensive options on trade market, could pursue pitching

The Chicago Cubs could stand pat this trade deadline, as the available offensive assets don't appeal to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein.

He said Friday that the Cubs are still "assessing" what they need prior to the upcoming non-waiver deadline, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

"On the position-player front," Epstein said, "right now, there's not a lot that we'd want to go get, honestly."

Epstein added, "Not a lot of roster spots to fit guys in. And we have guys who have to sit on a given day who we want to get at-bats for, so it's not like we're actively out looking to add on the position-player side."

Ian Happ, who began the season in Chicago's leadoff slot, has been relegated to the occasional starting role. The 23-year-old switch-hitter owns an .827 OPS.

On the pitching front, meanwhile, Epstein is less certain.

"With the pitching, I think we'll learn a lot more over the next weeks," he said. "(We have) a couple guys in some ruts who we expect to get out of them and get locked in. And then on the health front with Yu (Darvish), we're optimistic, but we need to see more."

Chicago's pitching staff ranks 25th in baseball this year by FanGraphs' WAR. While Jon Lester has performed well - particularly as of late - the starting staff has struggled for the second-place club.

The Cubs added Darvish and Tyler Chatwood on multi-year deals this past offseason. Darvish has posted a 4.95 ERA over eight starts, missing time due to a recurring shoulder injury, while Chatwood owns a 4.54 ERA with 8.1 walks per nine innings.