Long-term pitching needs as big as 2017 repeat efforts for Cubs

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The bender is officially over.

Actually, Cubs president Theo Epstein said it ended almost a week ago, after a short extension a month after it began with the Cubs’ emotional, 17-game postseason thrill ride to their historic championship.

“Pulled that one off pretty good,” Epstein said with a laugh of his well-documented, self-proclaimed bender

Now for his next trick: keeping the parties coming at Wrigley Field beyond 2017.

The Cubs’ intense focus on pitching this offseason is a glimpse not only into the more urgent needs of a team that has realistic aspirations of a repeat title but also into the thinking about what might come next.

In particular, Wednesday’s big trade for All-Star closer Wade Davis underscored the reality that one of the biggest reasons the Cubs were able to turn a competitive corner so quickly and dramatically the past two seasons is the same reason why it could be so much more challenging to sustain a year from now.

“Look, we knew this day was coming,” Epstein said after the Cubs traded one of this front office’s original “core” prospects, young slugger Jorge Soler, to get Davis. “One of the reasons we’ve invested heavily in position players in the draft and international markets and trades we’ve made is because they’re good bets to return value.”

Anthony Rizzo was acquired in a trade as a minor leaguer five years ago. Addison Russell – same thing 2½ years ago. Kris Bryant was drafted No. 2 overall by this front office, Kyle Schwarber No. 4 overall, Albert Almora Jr. No. 6 overall.

Only one is older than 24 (Rizzo is 26), and that young core already has a combined six All-Star appearances, an MVP award, 18 postseason home runs and more postseason victories in two years (15) than the Cubs had in the previous 87 years combined (14).

The impact has been as collectively powerful as it was sudden. And because the pitching production in the farm system hasn’t come close to keeping up, the front office has spent and maneuvered to support the core with competitive arms from outside the organization.

And if the end of his bender wasn’t sobering enough, Epstein needs only to glance at the short list of championship-caliber pitchers he has under club control past 2017 to know how much heavy lifting awaits regardless how late into October Davis might pitch.

“We’ve identified a core of guys we really believe in, who have gotten here and helped us win a championship already,” Epstein said. “And those are going to be guys who are really hard to move. And we feel like some of our prospects have a chance to join that core, but other ones we’re going to end up trading.

“That was part of the plan all along.”

Already, top prospect Gleyber Torres was traded in July for closer Aroldis Chapman, without whom the Cubs wouldn’t have won the World Series. Then once-heralded Cuban free agent Soler was sent to the Royals.

Next? Consider that Davis, 2015 Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and three-time World Series-winner John Lackey all are free agents after the 2017 season, at which time All-Star lefty Jon Lester hits the back side of his six-year deal.

Is 2015 first-round hitter Ian Happ on deck for the next trade for pitching? Rising-star outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez? And if not, how much will it cost in free agent contracts a year from now? The year after?

Suddenly, it becomes clearer why the Cubs seem to be spending with such care this time around

“You can’t necessarily develop all your position players and all your pitching both homegrown,” Epstein said. “And the plan all along was to take some of the position players and turn it into pitching.

“I think we’ve done a good job building a young nucleus of position players,” he added, ”and then finding some more established pitching in some cases – whether it’s on the free agent market or trades that served us well – and finding a way year to year to put the pitching staff around the nucleus of position players that is going to have a nice long run together.

“I’m not saying it’s on the immediate horizon, but over the next couple of years, we’ll certainly make more trades where we say goodbye to some position players who are hard to part with but bring us the pitching we need. And a lot of that was by design.”

Note: The Cubs didn’t select a player in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft Thursday, but they acquired Milwaukee’s pick, Class AA left-hander Caleb Smith from the Yankees’ system for cash. Smith, 25, becomes part of the club’s bullpen depth. …Also, the Cubs lost right-hander Armando Rivero to the Braves in the draft.