Cubs Looking Into Acquiring Long-Term Pieces Ahead of Trade Deadline

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The Chicago Cubs will be buying ahead of the trade deadline.
With one of the best offenses in the sport, the Cubs have a real chance to push for a World Series championship if they can acquire players to mask the current issues they have on this roster.
But like every conversation when it comes to Chicago and making additions, it's unclear exactly how many resources they are willing to utilize, whether that is financial from the ownership side of things or prospect capital from the front office's side.
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However, the Cubs reportedly are thinking big before the July 31 deadline.
"Club officials view this season and next year as clear opportunities to make deep postseason runs. With that in mind, rental players won't be their lone focus," reported Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required).
That's an interesting nugget for two reasons.
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One, acquiring players who will be with the franchise for more than just half of a year could cause Jed Hoyer to get a bit more aggressive when it comes to giving up prospects to land difference makers.
Second, that seems to suggest the ownership group is willing to open up the checkbook a bit further.
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Both would be major positives for Chicago.
In a seller's market, teams will have to be bold if they are going to land the best players available.
The Cubs have the prospect capital to shop at the top of the shelf, and if they are eyeing long-term additions as well as short-term rentals, then this could be a deadline that pushes them over the top.
For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai