Sitting in front of Chicago reporters in his suite at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego last week, Cubs president Theo Epstein talked about his team’s unpopular, uncertain offseason plan.



“Last year didn’t meet our standards and we want to try to do better next year,” Epstein said. “We’re also at a point where after five consecutive years of charging straight ahead and pouring a lot of resources, in terms of both prospect capital and dollars, into trying to win now, we’re also at a point where we have to really think ahead and secure our future as well and try to create sustained success over a long period of time. That’s the challenge.”



The simple translation is that the Cubs aren’t likely to trade any of their few remaining top prospects for win-now players this winter. As big-name free agents go off the board, the Cubs have sat on the sidelines, as expected.



Even though Kris Bryant has faced...