{"id":144231,"date":"2025-07-01T13:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T13:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/144231\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T13:17:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T13:17:13","slug":"what-to-watch-in-july-for-the-cubs-and-white-sox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/144231\/","title":{"rendered":"What to watch in July for the Cubs and White Sox"},"content":{"rendered":"

June went by quickly for the Chicago Cubs, who went 13-13 and missed out on a chance to put some space between them and their closest pursuers, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n

But they avoided any prolonged skids and enter July in good position to make the postseason for the first time in a non-pandemic year since 2018. Soon we\u2019ll find out whether Cubs President Jed Hoyer can add pitching and bench help for the stretch run and whether the offense can continue to operate at a franchise-record pace.<\/p>\n

The outlook for the White Sox isn\u2019t quite as rosy as that of the Cubs, but neither is the short-term goal. The Sox won three of their last four to go 10-16 in June and remain on pace for 108 losses, which would be the franchise\u2019s second-most behind last year\u2019s record-setting 121-loss team.<\/a><\/p>\n

General manager Chris Getz will be a trade-deadline seller this month, though he doesn\u2019t have as many quality pieces to dangle as in 2024, when Garrett Crochet<\/a>, Erick Fedde and Michael Kopech were all rumored to be dealt and only Crochet remained the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Here are seven things to look forward to this month for the Cubs and Sox.<\/p>\n

1. Trade rumors<\/p>\n

This goes for almost every team, of course, but the Cubs and Sox might be part of more rumors than most because one is a motivated buyer and the other a motivated seller.<\/p>\n

The question for Hoyer is whether he can acquire a big-ticket item no matter the cost. After missing out on free agent Alex Bregman in February, Hoyer said the Cubs were \u201creally close\u201d to their payroll limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a little bit of money for some small in-season things,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this was obviously a significant exception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that the Cubs are where they are, would Chairman Tom Ricketts let Hoyer stretch the budget for Mitch Keller or Sandy Alcantara?<\/p>\n

\"MarlinsMarlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara throws during the first inning against the Phillies on June 16, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Lynne Sladky)<\/p>\n

Getz, making his second appearance as a trade-deadline seller, had an uninspiring debut last year while dumping Eloy Jim\u00e9nez, Paul DeJong and Tanner Banks for minor prospects and keying on Miguel Vargas, acquired in the three-way deal involving Fedde, Kopech and Tommy Pham. Vargas has rebounded from a poor start in 2025 to turn a bad trade around, though he returns to Los Angeles on Tuesday in a slump with a .108 average and .403 OPS over the last 10 games.<\/p>\n

Moving Luis Robert Jr. always was going to be difficult, and now Robert\u2019s 0.0 WAR<\/a> and another hamstring injury<\/a> could make it next to impossible for Getz \u2014 unless he just wants to cut bait, as he did with Jim\u00e9nez last July.<\/p>\n

2. Willson\u2019s back
\n\"WillsonWillson Contreras of the Cardinals returns to the dugout at the conclusion of the game against the Cubs on Thursday, June 26, 2025, in St Louis. (Scott Kane\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Willson Contreras\u2019 return to Wrigley Field with the Cardinals this weekend is sure to stir emotions after he reacted poorly to being hit<\/a> by a Daniel Palencia pitch in the ninth inning of a Cubs win Thursday at Busch Stadium.<\/p>\n

Contreras later apologized for his actions, but whether Cubs fans will resort to booing the popular ex-Cub remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

3. Sox tributes
\n\"FormerFormer White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle is introduced during SoxFest Live at the Ramova Theatre on Jan. 24, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Sox will unveil Mark Buehrle\u2019s statue July 11<\/a> in what should be a full house at Rate Field. Few players in team history have been as universally respected by fans as Buehrle, who not only threw a perfect game among his two no-hitters, but also pitched out of the bullpen in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series after having multiple adult beverages<\/a> in the clubhouse, believing he wouldn\u2019t be needed.<\/p>\n

Sox fans also will see slugger Dick Allen posthumously inducted<\/a> into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Even though Allen will have a Philadelphia Phillies cap on his plaque, there\u2019s no disputing where his heart lay. Allen was always partial to the South Side.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better than anywhere I\u2019ve been my whole baseball career, I might say my whole baseball life,\u201d Allen told me in 2020, referring to his Sox tenure (1972-74).<\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve never been treated any better. You guys are the best for my money.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Mile High showdown
\n\"RockiesRockies starting pitcher German Marquez reacts after giving up an RBI single to the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki on May 27, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (AP Photo\/Paul Beaty)<\/p>\n

The Sox visit the Colorado Rockies this weekend at Coors Field in a battle of not-so-super flyweights. The Rockies are 19-65 and on pace to smash the Sox\u2019s all-time losses record,<\/a> but like the Sox, they also went 10-16 in June, which is bad but not abysmal.<\/p>\n

It should be a close series and could come down to whoever wants it the least. The Rockies are 8-13 in one-run games, while the Sox are 5-20. The Rockies are averaging 29,454 per game at Coors Field, so fans don\u2019t seem particularly bothered by the losing.<\/p>\n

5. All-Star reveal
\n\"AA rain puddle reflects the Wrigley Field marquee before the Cubs-Brewers game was postponed Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

With the All-Star Game being played July 15 in Atlanta, MLB is expected to announce this month which city will host the 2027 game.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the worst-kept secret in baseball<\/a> that the Cubs are likely to be awarded their first Midsummer Classic at Wrigley since 1990. Act surprised anyway.<\/p>\n

6. Les Mis
\n\"BrewersBrewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts to striking out the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz on June 25, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Kayla Wolf)<\/p>\n

A rainout at Wrigley on June 18 spoiled the Cubs\u2019 chance to face sensational 6-foot-7 Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski, who throws 103 mph. They might not be so lucky when they face the Brewers again at so-called Wrigley North on July 28-30 in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

Misiorowski is 3-0 in three starts, allowing no runs on three hits with 19 strikeouts in 16 innings. Cubs starting pitchers were 9-10 in June with a 4.87 ERA, which ranked 24th in the majors and was well behind the Milwaukee starters. The Brewers added the rookie phenom and ranked fourth in June with a 3.22 ERA and 12-6 record.<\/p>\n

7. Crosstown Redux
\n\"WhiteWhite Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas is congratulated by teammate Chase Meidroth (10) after Vargas hit a two-run home run against the Cubs on May 16, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Cubs swept the first round of the City Series<\/a> in May at Wrigley and have won a record eight straight against the Sox dating to Aug. 16, 2023.<\/p>\n

The finale of the first series featured a minor eruption when Brad Keller hit Vargas with a pitch in the eighth inning with a four-run lead, upsetting the Sox infielder. Vargas hit three home runs in the series<\/a> and said, \u201cI guess you face the price for doing good at the plate.\u201d Keller, who briefly pitched for the Sox in 2024, said he didn\u2019t understand why Vargas was upset.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t exactly A.J. versus Barrett,<\/a> but there\u2019s always a chance for a brouhaha whenever the Cubs and Sox meet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June went by quickly for the Chicago Cubs, who went 13-13 and missed out on a chance to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,7798,138,24,49,2561,4071,4195,11714,884,16209,4154,4,3449,396,2562,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-144231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brad-keller","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-cubs","12":"tag-chicago-white-sox","13":"tag-chicagowhitesox","14":"tag-chris-getz","15":"tag-dick-allen","16":"tag-jacob-misiorowski","17":"tag-jed-hoyer","18":"tag-mark-buehrle","19":"tag-miguel-vargas","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-mlb-trade-deadline","22":"tag-white-sox","23":"tag-whitesox","24":"tag-willson-contreras"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114778174137272995","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}