Sahadev Sharma

“It’s going as poorly as it can right now,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.

CHICAGO -- A day after fielding questions about his lack of hustle on a seemingly routine grounder that was mishandled, Alex Bregman launched a three-run homer deep into the left-center field bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Amid a season of high highs and low lows, Chicago's shortstop is known as a steady presence behind the scenes.

Even within the context of the Chicago Cubs' extremely up-and-down season, Dansby Swanson stands out for his streakiness. As early optimism from the club's historically great start faded, reporters questioned whether the $177 million shortstop should be benched indefinitely and if his play was declining at 32, an age when his performance could fall off the cliff.

Crow-Armstrong says his revised mentality in the batter's box isn't looking not to swing, but "looking for one thing and sticking to it."

Pete Crow-Armstrong has had hot stretches before. At this point last season, the dynamic center fielder was putting up the type of offensive performance that had some wondering whether he could win MVP.

The Cubs haven't selected many pitchers with upside in recent drafts. They'll likely take a different approach this year.

Cubs team president Jed Hoyer was pretty candid this past winter about the state of the farm system's pitching. After Jaxon Wiggins, there seemed to be a rather large drop-off in talent, especially of the high-end variety.

It’s been such a weird year in Wrigleyville. We know you have questions ahead of the trade deadline.

Who might the Cubs move ahead of the deadline? What will they be looking to add? We answer your trade deadline questions.