CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs may find all these questions about the trade deadline to be repetitive. The alternative angle, though, would be focusing on the club’s middling play recently. Between the blowout losses, sloppy defense and creaky pitching staff, help should be on the way.

As the Chicago Cubs head into the All-Star Break, their hold on first place in the NL Central is hanging by a thread. The starting rotation slumped in June, key arms have gone down with injuries, and now the front office must act decisively before the July 31 trade deadline.