The Chicago Cubs finished the 2024 season with a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The loss brought their record to 83-79, the same as 2023. There were many similarities beyond just their record between the teams in 2023 and 2024, along with some notable differences. Nevertheless, as the Chicago Cubs go into another offseason at the same time the postseason is starting, one thing is certainly clear: Something has to improve and fast.
2025 will be the final year of President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer’s contract and an extension during the offseason is extremely unlikely. He is in desperate need of a good offseason after the letdown and inactivity that marred last year’s offseason. There is a lot of money coming off the books for the Chicago Cubs that places them well below the CBT, freeing up Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins to make some moves to make the team better and more viable for the playoffs in 2025.
Adding to the bevy of resources available to Chicago Cubs leadership is a league-leading eight prospects in the MLB Pipeline Top 100. Assets that are certainly coveted by teams around the league could serve as trade chits to make the Cubs major league team better in the here and now. As it was, the 2024 season was a disappointment by all calculations and one that could inform the offseason and the future of the Chicago Cubs. Here are some key factors that led to the disappointing summer at Wrigley Field.
Lacking Offensive Production
“It’s only June, man.” This was a quote from Chicago Cubs SS Dansby Swanson when asked in a postgame interview if he was concerned about the team’s offensive struggles. The Cubs had been in a tailspin for about a month and had not only lost control of the NL Central lead but were sinking to below .500. The shortstop who was brought in to share his winning pedigree and attitude wasn’t all that concerned about the Chicago offense and what fans thought was a slump. After 162 games, Swanson might regret that response as the team’s “slump” turned out to be more representative of their output than an outlier.
The 2023 Cubs finished sixth in all of baseball in overall offensive output and after bringing back much of the same cast, no one could be blamed for thinking the team-wide slump that started in May would just be a blip on the radar for a team with postseason aspirations. It turned out to be one of the key reasons why the team isn’t playing in October. The Chicago Cubs could never consistently get their offense on track and put enormous stress on the pitching staff to squeak out tight games.
Unreliable Hitting
Aside from a week-long stretch in the second half of the season when the Cubs broke franchise records for runs, hits, and bases, there wasn’t a lot for the offense to hang their hat on. Key contributors that surprised the returning cast like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch couldn’t make up for the letdown created by familiar faces like Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, and Swanson.
Team rankings fell almost universally from a season ago. The Cubs fell seven spots in runs batted in and doubles, six spots in overall production, total bases, slugging percentage and batting average and five spots in OPS and home runs. Hitting with runners in scoring position was especially bad in 2024, with the Cubs placing in the lower third of MLB in average and slugging when trying to capitalize on opportunities. All told, the offense wasn’t atrocious but it took a significant step back from 2023, putting more of the onus for team success on the pitching staff.
Streaky Bullpen
The onus might’ve been felt hardest by the Chicago Cubs bullpen. Expectations were that the Cubs were going to be more active in the 2023 offseason after the bullpen cratered down the stretch of the 2023 season. These expectations were not met and after only adding Hector Neris, there was a healthy amount of trepidation about the back end of the Chicago bullpen. The unit overperformed to a large degree for what Craig Counsell had at his disposal given how the season ultimately unfolded.
Though there were certainly some moments where the bullpen left the team high and dry, they were one of the better units on the ball club. After stumbling out of the gate due to injuries and role uncertainty, the bullpen found its groove and became one of the best units in all of baseball. For about two months the bullpen as a whole was impeccable. They were better trailing than carrying a lead but the misfortunes of the team couldn’t be placed at the feet of the bullpen for much of the season, despite missing their opening day closer and key set-up relievers for almost the entire year.
Different Personnel
Adbert Alzolay struggled out of the gate in his second year trying to be the closer and found himself on the IL fairly quickly, never to return. Julian Merryweather went on the shelf at around the same time as Alzolay but he was able to come back and contribute to the playoff push. Neris didn’t see the end of the season, ending up with his former team in Houston after the Cubs designated the veteran for assignment. Mark Leiter Jr., one of the strongest options out of the bullpen was traded to the Yankees at the deadline and didn’t see the end of the season either.
There were some pleasant surprises along the way for the Chicago Cubs bullpen. An early-season trade netted them Tyson Miller from Seattle and Miller became one of their more reliable arms, along with Porter Hodge, who after struggling mightily in AAA, rose to the occasion and held down the closer role for the home stretch of the season. There was plenty of turmoil for Craig Counsell to deal with in the bullpen, especially after the trade deadline, and in the midst of the upheaval, the unit struggled, marring what was overall a strong season. In a tight race, however, it wasn’t good enough.
Inconsistent Level Of Play
If there was a team that defined playing up and down to their competition in 2024, it was the Chicago Cubs. They went 5-1 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, only to lose their season series to the Oakland Athletics. They swept the Houston Astros and got swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs could never play over their opponent, something critical to a postseason push in baseball. They might’ve taken their Wild Card chase to the final weeks of the season, but their fate was sewn in the five months leading up to then when they failed to take care of teams they were better than.
Streaky teams have been able to overcome this in the past to make it to October but they could often cite injuries or key slumps by premier players. Neither applied to the 2024 Chicago Cubs. They were relatively healthy throughout the year and without a marquee player to speak of, they could remain largely the same team in every game. Without that star talent, the Chicago Cubs were simply too often a product of their opponent to have a successful season.
The tight games created by a middling offense and streaky bullpen undoubtedly contributed to this season-long trend for the Chicago Cubs and played a part in making the year so frustrating for the team and fans alike. The environment the Cubs played in lent itself more to the postseason than the regular season, keeping them out of the playoffs and leading them to possibly reconsider their priorities for a crucial offseason.
Tepid Commitment
Those priorities were managed by Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins. The lethargy of their tenure has cast a wide shadow over the organization and it certainly played a significant role in the fate of this year’s squad. For the second consecutive season, the situation at third base was cobbled together from the beginning of the year and needed to be addressed at the trade deadline. After 2023 where the combination of Patrick Wisdom and Christopher Morel didn’t cut it and Chicago brought in former Cub Jeimer Candelario, they followed a similar track in 2024.
The biggest midseason acquisition Chicago made was former Cub Isaac Paredes from Tampa. The All-Star third baseman was traded in exchange for Morel, Hunter Bigee, and an additional pitching prospect. Paredes was unable to turn around the struggles he started in Tampa and was largely a non-factor in his two-month tenure on the north side of Chicago. The position of third base for the Cubs will likely remain a question mark until top prospect Matt Shaw is ready for the majors.
Mild Moves At Trade Deadline
Paredes wasn’t the only acquisition the Chicago Cubs made. In another attempt to resurrect a player’s production down the home stretch of a season, Chicago made a move to acquire Nate Pearson from Toronto. Pearson was a solid power arm in the bullpen for Craig Counsell and until cratering in the season’s final weeks had a great stint with the Cubs. Whether or not he is in Chicago long-term has yet to be discussed.
The acquisitions would’ve sent a clear message to the locker room had they been the only moves that the Chicago Cubs made at the deadline. In 2023, Dansby Swanson, and a swath of other leaders in the Chicago locker room, implored Hoyer and Hawkins to buy at the deadline and not throw in the towel. This year, the acquisitions did not spare some of the players in the locker room from getting sent elsewhere.
Mark Leiter Jr. became a Yankee, Christopher Morel became a Ray and there was rampant speculation about Jameson Taillon. There was no call to buy from the team and there was mixed messaging sent by the front office. The tepid responses to Chicago’s situation at the midway point in seasons have been a trademark of Hoyer and Hawkins’ tenure. While last year was certainly more noticeable with the team finishing a game out of the playoffs, this year’s timidity certainly didn’t galvanize anyone into believing this team was going far.
Coaching Chaos
With the same record as his predecessor David Ross, Craig Counsell’s first year in Chicago could certainly have been puzzling for fans who saw the former Milwaukee skipper get the richest contract ever given out to a manager. A large reason that there weren’t marked differences between Ross and Counsell was that much of Ross’ staff remained this season to be a part of Counsell’s staff.
In the days after the end of the regular season, many of these holdovers have been let go and Counsell will get more say in who will join him in the Chicago Cubs dugout in his second year at the helm, leading many to question why this wasn’t done in Counsell’s inaugural season. While more might come out of this situation as the offseason progresses and some of the coaching vacancies are filled, it would stand to reason that if you’re going to pay Counsell more than any other manager in MLB history, you might as well let him pick who he is going to be working with.
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