Tricky weeks ahead for Chicago Cubs' front office

Monday's off-day could not have come at a better time for the Cubs.

It would be overstating it to say the Cubs are "reeling," but they are a bit battered. They enter a three-game series against the New York Mets on a five-game losing streak.

Until this past weekend, the Cubs were holding down one of the wild-card spots in the National League.

That in itself is a pretty good story, considering the Cubs still are in their rebuilding stage under team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer.

But fans - not to mention the players - have gotten a small taste of winning and they want more. And who could blame them, considering what they've been through, especially during the first three seasons of the rebuild?

The front office faces a pretty tricky task leading up to the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline. Epstein already has proclaimed the Cubs contenders, and no doubt the guys in the clubhouse will be casting their eyes toward him to do something.

Hoyer and Epstein must determine how realistic a contender this club is and how much they're willing to give up to get a solid starting pitcher, which is what the Cubs really need. A bullpen arm wouldn't hurt, either.

From the end of last season, when first baseman Anthony Rizzo first said the Cubs should compete for a division title, Epstein repeatedly has said he would not completely mortgage the future to win in 2015.

That remains a wise approach. The Cubs have come this far, and there's no sense in putting cracks in the foundation they've painstakingly put down.

The Cubs aren't going to trade Kris Bryant, Addison Russell or Kyle Schwarber. It hasn't helped that Starlin Castro is having a subpar first half or that Javier Baez broke his finger.

But the organization still has some movable chips in the system and players whose paths to the big leagues seemed blocked by cornerstone players.

The Cubs might not be willing to part with certain players to land a Cole Hamels from the Phillies, and that may be just as well. But there might be enough there to land a starting pitcher who costs less money and who is under club control for a few years. That's the better way to go anyway.

It's a whole new Cubs world for Epstein, who made his final mass sell-off last July. Now he's a buyer, and in the next few weeks we'll get a good feel for how the next chapter in Cubs history is going to unfold.

Needing more quality:

The Cubs haven't done much well during their five-game losing streak. Between the final two games of the Dodgers series, when the streak started, and the three games in St. Louis, the Cubs have been outscored 24-6. They went 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position against the Cardinals.

Getting quality starts from their pitchers also has been a problem. Only 1 of the 5 starts in the streak was a quality start.

For the season, the Cubs have 35 quality starts compared with 39 non-quality starts. Through 74 games last year they had 38 quality starts and 36 non-quality starts.

In their 35 quality starts this season, the Cubs are 28-7, and the starters have an ERA of 1.70. In games where the Cubs do not get one, they are 11-28, and the starters' ERA is 6.44. The 35 quality starts put the Cubs 11th in the National League in that category, ahead of only Arizona, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Colorado.

Jake Arrieta leads the staff with 11 followed by Jason Hammel (9), Jon Lester (9), Kyle Hendricks (3), Travis Wood (2) and Tsuyoshi Wada (1).

Even though Lester is only 2 behind Arrieta, the Cubs will need him to start pitching consistently like the ace they signed him to be. Hendricks hasn't pitched poorly in some of his non-quality starts, but some deeper outings would help.

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. New York Mets at Citi Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet today; WGN Wednesday and Thursday

Radio: WBBM 780-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (2-4) vs. Jonathon Niese (3-7) today at 6:10 p.m.; Jon Lester (4-6) vs. Bartolo Colon (9-6) Wednesday at 6:10 p.m.; Jake Arrieta (7-5) vs. Jacob deGrom (8-5) Thursday at 12:10 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs swept four from the Mets at Wrigley Field in mid-May. The Mets' record reflects quite a contrast in home and road performance. They're 29-11 at home and 11-26 on the road. Curtis Granderson leads New York with 13 home runs, while Lucas Duda has a line of .259/.364/.447 with 10 homers. The Mets' 3.45 ERA ranked fourth in the NL entering Monday. On offense, they were 14th in runs scored, 12th in on-base percentage and eighth in homers. Anthony Rizzo leads the Cubs at .304/.413/.568 with 15 homers and 44 RBI. Kris Bryant has 87 strikeouts, which ranked third in the NL entering Monday. The Cubs were fifth in ERA (3.53), 10th in runs scored, seventh in OBP and fifth in homers. After this series, the Cubs (39-35) have 10 straight home games before the all-star break.

Next: Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday

- Bruce Miles