The Chicago Cubs ended last season, publicly declaring their goal to focus on pitching in the offseason. They lived up to their words with a deep investment in restocking a depleted bullpen via four solid free agent acquisitions. Then, they bolstered the starting rotation with a high-profile trade with the Miami Marlins for emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera.
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On the offense side, the Cubs also managed to make some big news, although there was a big subtraction that went along with an addition.
They picked up free agent Alex Bregman, a three-time All-Star third baseman, as a lineup replacement for right fielder Kyle Tucker, who would eventually sign a monster deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tucker was a linchpin for an overwhelming Cubs offense over the first three months of last season, but then fell apart completely and languished in a career-worst extended slump for the rest of the year. Bregman, meanwhile, is probably a level lower with the bat than Tucker, but offers a more consistent defense and is the kind of positive clubhouse presence Tucker couldn’t be.
Everything else in the Cubs’ lineup is the same as late last year. As a result, the team’s focus will be on revisiting the highs from last season’s offense while avoiding the team-wide hitting slumps that plagued the offense over the second half of 2025.
A conservative ranking for the Cubs’ lineup
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Jim Bowden of The Athletic spotlighted the highs and the question marks of Chicago’s lineup by giving the team a mid-ish no. 7 ranking in his recent list of the MLB lineups, one spot behind the New York Mets and one spot ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Per Bowden:
“The Cubs lost right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers, but pivoted perfectly by landing third baseman Alex Bregman. In addition to his strong bat, Bregman gives the Cubs a significant clubhouse presence who is willing to help other players and should be a positive influence on this deep lineup.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is working to be more consistent this year after seeing his second-half performance fall off considerably following a very strong first half. Even with the second-half struggles, however, he was worth 6.0 bWAR thanks to his power, speed and excellent center-field defense…
The Cubs will try to win the division with pitching, elite defense and this well-balanced offense.”
Primed for a letdown?
The Cubs are staring down the fact that a lot of their offensive assets had career years last season (PCA, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner) and the question will be whether last season was the tip of an iceberg for them or a prelude to a comedown.
It’ll also be interesting to see how rookie Moises Ballesteros does over the course of an entire season. In minimal at bats last year, he certainly looked like the real deal.
Time will tell what the Cubs’ offense looks like this coming season, but there’s a lot to be excited about as well as some things that spark concern.
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