After months of speculation, starting pitcher Matt Garza was traded Monday to the Texas Rangers.

The deal – highlighted by prospects Mike Olt and pitcher C.J. Edwards – sent the best pitcher the Cubs had to a team fighting for a wild card spot. Garza, who is 6-1 on the year with a 3.17 ERA, could very well be that missing piece for the Rangers to help them get into the postseason.

For the Cubs, the team will get worse in the time being. Up until the trade, the Cubs were playing mediocre instead of their usual awfulness. Garza was a nice surprise this season for a team making progress.

Now he’s gone.

And yet, the deal makes sense.

When the Cubs brought in former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein to be the president of baseball operations, the goal was always to build a contender based on young prospects. With Garza’s contract expiring at the end of the year, his expected price was too much for a Cubs team trying to build something long term. It made sense to move him for prospects that were going to help the team in its future.

That’s exactly what the Cubs got with third baseman Mike Olt. Named the Rangers’ Minor League player of the year in 2012, Olt is known for his power and his diversity for being able to play multiple positions. He’s batting just .210 in the minor leagues this season, but that was mostly due to an eye injury distorting his vision. In his last 10 games, Olt’s batting average improved to .290 (9-for-31) and has three home runs.

Olt, 23, could be called up to the Cubs by the middle of August, according to the Chicago Tribune. Along with the second-overall pick Kris Bryant and recently called up Junior Lake, the Cubs have a great core of young players to be able to play at third base and hit the ball.

It finally feels like the Cubs have a reliable core heading into the future. Current players Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro are the team’s untouchable pieces, but Olt, Lake and Bryant all add potential star power for a team trying to make its mark in 2015.

As for the other players involved in the Garza deal, Edwards, pitcher Justin Grimm, and a player or two to be named later, the Cubs added pitchers with room to develop. They might not produce into the quality of player Garza was, but these are players who can both get better.

Ultimately, the Garza trade was all about getting better.

For years, the Cubs have tried to acquire big name free agents to get them into the postseason with no success. The team missed out on names like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

When they did acquire a marquee name, it was Alfonso Soriano in 2005 for an eight-year $135 million deal. Soriano’s deal has only produced two playoff appearances and zero playoff wins in that span.

Now the Cubs under Epstein will try to get better by developing players through its farm system. By his projection, Epstein believes the Cubs will be a contender in 2015. To get there, the Garza trade was absolutely necessary.
Cubs fans have waited 108 years for a World Series win Š—ê what’s another two?