Rosenthal: The Cubs fought to stay together. Now they must prove it was worth it

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The date was June 9. The Cubs, after getting swept in Anaheim, had just arrived in San Francisco. Their record was 26-36. They were 6 1/2 games back in the wild-card race, 7 1/2 out in the NL Central. With trade talk already enveloping the club, manager David Ross decided to hold a team meeting.

Before addressing the group, Ross consulted with catcher Yan Gomes, who played for the 2019 Nationals, a club that started the season 19-31 and won the World Series. He spoke with shortstop Dansby Swanson, who played for the 2021 Braves, a team that did not get over .500 until Aug. 6 and also won the Series.

The message Ross wanted to convey was simple. Plenty of time remained in the season, 100 games in fact. The team just needed to start finding ways to win, that’s all.

During the meeting, Ross called on both Gomes and Swanson, who briefly shared their past experiences. Left unspoken, with the trade deadline less than two months away: No one wanted the team broken up.

“We took a lot of pride this year in bringing the team together, having team gatherings, spending time together in spring training,” Gomes said. “A lot of that was, ‘Let’s not let that go to waste. We’re putting a lot of effort into this. Let’s put it on the field as well.’”

The Cubs proceeded to go on an 11-2 run, moving to within one game of .500. But a loss to the Cardinals in the second of two games in London began a 1-7 slide. On July 20, less than two weeks before the deadline, they were still in a precarious spot:

• Six games under .500, one of the minimum standards president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer established to avoid selling.

• Eight-and-a-half games behind the Brewers and six behind the Reds in the NL Central.

• Seven games behind the Phillies for the third NL wild card.

Whether the 2023 Cubs become this year’s version of the 2019 Nationals or 2021 Braves remains to be seen. But by winning their next eight games, they at least accomplished their first goal, persuading the front office not only to hold the team together, but also to add to it.

The Cubs kept center fielder Cody Bellinger, whose resurgence made him their most valuable commodity, and right-hander Marcus Stroman, who struggled in July and went on the injured list Aug. 2. They then made two acquisitions the day before the deadline, corner infielder Jeimer Candelario, perhaps the best hitter available in a thin market, and right-hander José Cuas, a reinforcement for the bullpen.

Ten days have passed since the deadline. The Cubs are a half-game out in the wild-card race, 2 1/2 games out in the division. Their playoff odds, according to Fangraphs, have risen from 6 percent on July 20 to 51 percent.

“We created our own future,” Gomes…