General manager Jim Hendry already is fielding calls from contenders interested in some of his players. And once the Cubs reach the All-Star break after this weekend, the sprint is on toward the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and what figures to be a new purpose over the final two months of the season.
“Hopefully, we can win a few games here,’’ Hendry said before the Cubs’ 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. “No matter what, it doesn’t really change the focus of what we’ll try to do here over the next month.
“Everything we try to do will be designed to try to get better moving forward. And there won’t be pieces moved that are going to be integral parts of the club a year from now.’’
That means players such as Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall and the young middle infielders are untouchable.
The Cubs also are likely to pass on requests for starting pitchers Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Garza, rather than create an even bigger hole to fill at their greatest area of need.
And while Kerry Wood is attracting as much interest as any Cub, the chances are remote he’ll be traded. He said during the last homestand it would require the ideal scenario for him to waive his no-trade clause.
Almost everyone else on the roster with at least arbitration-level service time could merit a discussion, depending on the offer.