This series begins after the trade deadline and will be a contest between one dismantled roster and one absurdly dismantled roster. Might this end up one of the least-watched series of 2021? See below for some sorrowful notes on players who have departed for more competitive climes and a lot of TBD in the daily matchups.

UPDATED 7/29: 

As things stand right now...

The Cubs have one last home series before the trade deadline. These four games might be fans' last look at any one of the trade targets still on the Cubs roster. See below for the projected matchups against the second-place Reds.

The Cubs begin their final homestand before the trade deadline with a 3-game series against opponents they recently faced, the Diamondbacks. See below for the weekend's pitching matchups.

Generally, an MLB club can trade a player on its MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and minor league reserve lists at any time. However, there are a few restrictions:

The Cubs and the Cardinals have their final meeting before the 2021 trade deadline--with the Cubs looking to become big-time sellers and the at this point stubbornly holding on to potential free agents (Molina, Wainwright, Miller, and Kim). They'll start the series tied and nine full games behind the Brewers, two behind the Reds. The Wild Card outlook is not much better. See below for the projected matchups (to-be updated when possible).

Just before kicking off the post-All Star portion of the season, the Cubs traded their starting left fielder for an advanced A-ball first base prospect. Pederson had not proven himself integral to what middling success the Cubs had managed so far this season, and the team could conceivably improve without him. However, the Cubs were rumored to be sellers going into the All-Star break and this move lends further support. They'll continue on, for now, with remaining core players like Javy, Rizzo, Bryant, and Contreras--but we'll be watching these games knowing any of those players could be making their last appearances in Cubs blue.

The current Cubs will be taking up bat and glove against D-Backs club with the worst record in the majors. Arizona enters the series second to last in the majors wRC+ and dead last in pitching WAR with a shocking 1.0 in fWAR--a team 5.48 ERA in the DH-less league will do that. Still, things won't necessarily be easygoing for the Cubs. See below for my best guess at pitching matchups. [Edit: my guesses were wrong.]