Like legions of fans, manager Craig Counsell is fired up about the Cubs’ standing on the other side of the trade deadline.
He’s just feeling a different emotion.
‘‘I love this day because this is our group,’’ Counsell said before the Cubs’ 1-0 victory Friday against the Orioles. ‘‘This is the group that we’re going forward with. For the guys in the room, that’s a really good feeling. That’s my message to them today: ‘This is who we’re going to have the fun with, man. This is who we’re going to go through it with.’
‘‘We’ve got a great three months ahead of us. It starts today.’’
Fans, meanwhile, remain in various states of panic over president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s lack of a big splash on the starting-pitching front. Hoyer was unwilling to risk the future to bolster a staff that has seemed to be in need of reinforcements for months.
Instead, the newcomers in the Cubs’ clubhouse the day after the deadline added depth to the bench and the bullpen.
Utility player Willi Castro should allow Counsell to do a lot with just one roster spot. He plays everywhere and is a switch-hitter.
While the Cubs have managed to put up one of the best records in the majors without requiring much from players outside the starting nine, injuries always lurk. The Cubs now can breathe a tad easier about a backup plan they hope they never have to implement.
‘‘We’ve played a very regular lineup, and we’ve asked a lot of those guys,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We’ve been fortunate they’ve been healthy. [Castro] covers us in a lot of places. . . . It’s a version of a sixth man [in basketball] is a good way to say it. During this stretch of the season, it’s going to be important.’’
Changes have come to the relief corps in recent days, as well, with right-handers Chris Flexen and Ryan Pressly out and trade acquisitions Andrew Kittredge, a right-hander, and Taylor Rogers, a left-hander, in.
The volatility of relievers can mean shifting results from one season to the next, as in the case of Pressly, and even from month to month, as in the case of Flexen, who started strong but had a run of poor outings in July.
Now Counsell has two new arms to call on as the Cubs look toward a championship chase in bullpen-heavy October.
‘‘That’s every player’s goal — to get to the postseason and make a run,’’ said Kittredge, who pitched a 1-2-3 inning Friday against the Orioles team that traded him. ‘‘I know we’re not in the postseason yet, but this team is heading that direction. That’s right where I want to be, so there’s nothing but excitement to be here and to make a deep run.’’
As a deep run has become the expectation in Wrigleyville — even with the Cubs and Brewers locked in a tight race for the National League Central crown — the spotlight will shine even brighter on the team’s starting pitching, where the only deadline addition was right-hander Michael Soroka, who Counsell said likely will start Monday against the Reds.
Soroka isn’t the prize fans were hoping Hoyer would extract at the deadline. They now must hope a rotation plagued by injuries can regain — and then maintain — health in the final two months of the season.
Should it, with right-handers Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad expected back this month, Soroka could prove to be a useful depth piece, someone who could bounce between the rotation and bullpen. The job of producing a fearsome playoff rotation, however, belongs to left-handers Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd, Taillon and rookie right-hander Cade Horton.
The Cubs need those guys to be consistently productive and healthy with the trade market officially closed.
‘‘It’s a job for Jed to be responsible to this team and to future Cubs teams,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We successfully added to this team. You’ve got to make smart moves. You’ve got to make good moves. Jed did that.
‘‘Every team’s going to sit here and say this: The health of your starting pitching is super-important. We’re trending in a really good direction in that place on the team. That’s certainly going to be important the rest of the year.’’
