Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Jed Hoyer added needed pitching at trade deadline, now Craig Counsell, Cubs must put puzzle pieces together

suntimes.com · 6dShare

Suddenly, things are mighty crowded on the Cubs ’ pitching staff. Earlier in the summer, injuries stretched the team’s pitching depth to its limits. But after Jed Hoyer’s aggressive trade deadline Monday, there are new questions on the North Side, chiefly: How are the Cubs going to fit all their new pitching puzzle pieces together? Questions, maybe. But not problematic ones, so says the skipper. “You might look at it and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got too many starters. What are we going to do?’ We’ll figure it out,” manager Craig Counsell said Monday. “And if that’s a problem? I don’t consider it a problem. We’re going to have to find some different ways and be creative, but we’ll do that.” Indeed, having too many pitchers to choose from strikes as the proverbial good problem to have. But the Cubs do have a puzzle to put together over the regular season’s final two months to best position themselves for the deep October run they’re dreaming of. The headline additions at the trade deadline, right

First report: What we're hearing about the Cubs' confident pitching plans for the trade deadline — theathletic.com, 9d