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I watched all 27 outs of the Cubs' most famous contest, Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, on about a six-second delay on my Roku Streaming Stick. Just as he did back then, Ben Zobrist stood out for his quiet leadership... and the most famous hit in Cubs history. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images By the time third baseman Kris Bryant tossed the fateful final slow roller out to his friend Anthony Rizzo at first, I already knew that the Cubs had just done what some thought was impossible. In this or any other lifetime. Rewinding to the top of the 10th inning at Progressive Field against the team at the time known as the Cleveland Indians, I didn't know that the heroics of Chicago's most understated legend, second baseman Ben Zobrist, would burn in our memories like empty boxes of Three Floyds beer in an alley on Sheffield. Ben Zobrist is one of those curious players whose identity depends on where you are when you ask about him. If you're in South Florida, he's a Tampa Bay Ray who, along with his skipper at the time, Joe Maddon, should have never left the Sunshine State. The 184th overall pick of the Houston Astros in 2004, Ben Zobrist spent just four years as a Cub, ending in the 2019 season, one year after the Cubs had punched their last legitimate ticket to the postseason. In his time wearing Cubby pinstripes, Zobrist notched a .269 batting average and drove in 201 runs. Not included in that figure is perhaps the most important hit in Cubs history. With runners on first and second with one out in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, the man they call "Zorilla" laced a missile of a ground ball down the third base line, rolling all the way to the left field wall corner. Zobrist cruised into second base with an RBI double. Though that would not hold up to be the game-winning run, it gave Cubs fans the most flourishing feeling they had experienced in 108 years: hope. He wasn't even supposed to play baseball. According to a 2019 article in the Chicago Tribune, Zobrist opted to register for and attend a camp for "one more day of baseball" before heading off to Bible school. He used $50 of birthday money he had received that year to register for the event. That he stayed in baseball certainly gives the impression of a prayer answered. Now a regular on Cubs podcasts, Zobrist is one of the many relatively short-term Cubs like Jon Lester that had the deepest impact on the organization, then remained in the fold. A fan favorite at conventions and special events, Zobrist truly embraces his place in Chicago Cubs history and presents as one of the more approachable figures in recent memory. Unassuming, hardworking, and an indelible part of Cubs history, Ben Zobrist's efforts in the field and at the plate earns him a spot among the franchise's best. View full article

The Cubs arrived in Japan just days ago and it already seems like the party could go on for months. If that's to be the case, the Cubs had better find a rhythm fast. Image courtesy of © Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images After an early start but (still) an abbreviated buildup to regular-season baseball in their respective spring training camps, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are set to square off in their special two-game series. First, though, both clubs took the field in exhibition play against teams from Nippon Professional Baseball. I surmise this season will be a special one, but it's going to take some work. Playing under the bright lights of the Tokyo Dome, Craig Counsell's club was greeted by singing, dancing, painstakingly created signs, and all other attractions familiar to the most faithful Wrigley regulars. After getting no-hit through five innings in a 3-0 loss to the Hanshin Tigers, the Cubbies tapped into some impressive pitching of their own early Sunday morning against the Yomiuri Giants. They got good work from starter Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, who combined for over eight innings of work. It wasn't lethal stuff on the mound, but they danced out of trouble—and just as importantly, their supporting defense was clean. If what you want out of these friendly matches, and spring at large, is development from the youngsters, you got it. Third baseman Matt Shaw looked alert, made crisp throws, and even delivered a clutch RBI knock against the Giants. Gage Workman, an individual in dire need of a good nickname from either Obvious Shirts or the Wrigley bleachers, smacked an RBI single to shallow right field on a 1-0 count. Instances like this give us a glimpse into the inner mental workings of a ball club that appears starved for success. Much can be made of the squad acquiring players with a lack of splash or brand recognition, but what's paramount to notice at this early point of the season is that what the Cubs have right now is a team, not a collection of players who are just in it for the free lattes across the street at Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken. Each move is executed with a purpose. In under 48 hours, the business trip reaches its apex. The North Siders will send ace Shota Imanaga to the mound opposite Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers, with the world watching. Reaching to gather meaning from this experience, it's clear: The Cubs are on a mission to rectify years of futility. The club has felt disappointment or failure in some fashion each year since the 2016 core was dismantled. This is a new team—one with its own identity, and one that feels ready. View full article

Anticipation for the start of the regular season for Chicago's North Side baseball team is almost over. The Cubs may be prepping their plane for Tokyo, but the expectations for this year's squad are way above cruising altitude. Image courtesy of Michael Reaves/Getty Images You can pick any number of reasons as to why hope for Craig Counsell's 2025 ball club is soaring: they've got tremendous pitching depth, a balanced lineup, and most importantly (for now), they're healthy. What strikes me more this year than in previous campaigns is the eyebrow-raising maturity of some of the team's youngest players like Matt Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong. I'm not saying they'll be the biggest Chicago-based thing to hit Japan since Bill Murray, but they'll be a major reason for the club's success, if that is in fact what this Cubs baseball team has on the horizon. Holding true to any marathon-length season, even the best squads must dig their heels in and navigate some heartburn-inducing adversity. For the Cubbies, that probably won't originate from any spot in their deep batting order, but from their pitching staff. With a projected starting rotation featuring the likes of Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon, the North Siders should tote enough experience and control on the mound to keep things close. One must wonder, however, how a history of injuries could shake up this otherwise solid core group. Though he missed significant time in 2024, Steele was a similar version of what he delivered in his 2023 All-Star campaign. He still struck out a boat load of opposing batters at 135, though he did pitch almost 40 fewer innings. Given both that he is one of the more youthful pitchers in the rotation and a lefty, his health is imperative. A relatively human second half of the season kept Shota Imanaga from staying in contention for the 2024 NL Cy Young Award. After watching him get lit up in a couple outings this spring, how likely is it that the beloved Cubs hurler takes a step back in 2025? Probably not very, but it's wishful thinking to assume he will be as unhittable as he's appeared at times. Factor in Matthew Boyd and a still unproven (and currently injured) Javier Assad, and it's not far-fetched to think that the Cubs will have to out slug some opponents. As this club's starting rotation goes, so goes this club. Chicago's proficiency in plate discipline looms large for the North Siders' loftier aspirations. Anchors such as Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and newly-anointed designated hitter Seiya Suzuki must continue to play the role of aggressor at the right time. Suzuki is especially known for swinging early in counts, but cashing in on his hard contact will not only help push across key runs, but raise the pressure on opposing pitching when the team's new big bad bopper Kyle Tucker steps to the dish. The chances you'll get to dish out some serious trash talk to your fellow NL Central rival friends this year are honestly pretty good. Under the harsh microscope of a pending contract extension, Jed Hoyer pieced together a playoff-worthy major league ball club. That doesn't mean they will be, but it's hard to hate being the industry favorites in the division for the first time in a half-decade. View full article

You might not realize it, but the optics of what the inside of a team's clubhouse is like can be just as important as what it's actually like. With the Cubbies' final boarding call for Tokyo approaching, the view is as vibrant as the rising sun over Mount Fuji. Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images This week, as expected, the winning ways the North Siders have enjoyed nearly the entirety of spring subsided ever so briefly. Not only did they pick back up in front of record-setting crowds at Sloan Park, but we also witnessed a team and its message galvanize. The message? Cubs baseball and playoffs will soon be synonymous. Craig Counsell expects it, and that's the rallying cry for a squad that has left its legions of faithful supporters empty-handed for far too long. Remarkable talent and skill do not often, or even seldomly, translate into results for baseball clubs aspiring to reach the game's highest heights. Still, I'm observing the traits of this team that suggest that not an ounce of what it possesses will go to waste. You know I'm staunch for pitching as an intangible "X Factor," and the North Siders have it. The organization's former number-one prospect, Cade Horton, looks more confident, mature, and torched batters this week with lethal off-speed pitches. His health and efficiency out of the bullpen arms this club with the peace of mind it was missing last season in close contests. We also got looks at Matthew Boyd, Ryan Pressly, and this gentleman named Shota Imanaga, who you may know as his alter ego, Mike. Chicago's day-one Tokyo starter totes a sweeper that cleans up more than a custodian. Imanaga may not boast the youth that some of this squad's future starters do, but the control he is known for is well-situated and primed to put his ball club in position to win many games. Offensively, the hits kept coming. Droves of baseball fans are lined up at this very moment to get into Pete Crow-Armstrong's coming out party, and with a two-homer game against the Mariners, that guest list is likely to grow. Even though the man admits that he is more focused on reaching base than hitting for power, it's clear that the Cubs' young center fielder is poised to deliver whatever his squad needs. Three more tune-up games remain before the Cubbies touch down in Japan to battle the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers. If ever there was a time to feel confident our favorite baseball team could blow for blow with the defending World Series champions, it's now. Perhaps the Cubs will soon have a similar moniker next to their name. View full article

Through the first couple weeks of spring training, the Chicago Cubs have been loads of fun to watch. Though we are truly only getting started, and accepting the fact that the outcomes of spring games bear relatively little relationship to the way things go once the bell rings, I'm starting to see this team differently. Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images It's easy to get lost in the fun of a hot start, even in the Cactus League. While this team will eventually hit brief slides, they've shown (even at this stage) that they'll never be out of a game. And that's what makes the 2025 Chicago Cubs a club with championship DNA. The true ceiling of a baseball team can often be found in how its veterans respond to what's happening around them. Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner, two of the more trusted voices in the organization, have expressed that this is the best roster Jed Hoyer has assembled since they've been here. In a perfect world, I'd be a Cubs beat reporter with clubhouse credentials, able to provide you a firsthand account of just what's manifesting before our eyes with the ball club. Though I don't exist in that station, I can tell you that from my vantage point, the Chicago Cubs are a baseball team who knows how good they are. Last year's gestation period, though painful, has brought forth a 2025 squad that rightfully spills over with confidence, exuberance, and talent. Throw in a healthy Matt Shaw, and this baseball team is in business. As division rivals like the Brewers and Reds will soon find out, this is a club against which you'll need to get all 27 outs before feeling a sense of confidence that you might prevail. Truthfully, I wouldn't be writing this article had the Cubs not gotten off to the start they have this spring. What I can tell you, though, is that in examining this team more closely because of their impressive win streak, I've come to believe that they possess what's necessary to be good all year. Kevin Alcántara, who has a .712 OPS this spring, looks right at home in a Cubs uniform and emits more than a youthful optimism that he could be something; he knows he is something. That comes from raw talent, good managing, and a staff in place that develops players on schedule. In one of my first articles for this site nearly a year ago, I spoke about trusting Craig Counsell because (though he's not flashy) he knows his stuff. Almost a year on, it looks like he just might. Playoff baseball will return to the North Side of Chicago this fall, if for no other reason than the fact that they got markedly better, and their division rivals didn't. What the rest of this division did this offseason is akin to Austin Powers holding on a low hand in blackjack. It's ok to let this early success augment your hope for 2025, even though none of the wins count just yet. View full article

While spring training baseball can give squads misleading premonitions of summer success, part of the benefit of these tune-ups is the team knowing when to gradually increase the workload. With the Cub's special regular season tilt with the Dodgers just over two weeks away, Craig Counsell's gradual release of duties to his ball club is going, to say the least, marvelously. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images As in the regular season, new storylines emerge each week for the Cubs and, of course, the rest of Major League Baseball. In week one, it was the staggeringly short ramp-up time to the regular season, how Kyle Tucker would look and feel, and who, if anyone, would become a clear favorite at third base. This week, the storyline was longer work for starting pitchers like Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and veteran righty Colin Rea, who reunited with his former and now current skipper. After nearly two weeks of unbeaten baseball in gorgeous Arizona, to paraphrase Cubby play-by-play announcer Jon Sciambi, the news is good for each storyline thus far. Like an orchestra hitting each note in perfect unison at the Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Cubs have struck a chord with how well they're playing in spring ball and might be building habits translatable to regular season prosperity. This week, a wave of activity took place inside the organization, including the club optioning Cody Poteet to Triple-A Iowa, among others. But perhaps the best news from the Cubby camp was the return of 25-year-old Ben Brown, the North Sider's young right-handed pitcher who was sidelined last season with what turned out to be a benign bone tumor in his neck. He saw his first action since last summer in a split-squad game in which he took the bump versus the Kansas City Royals. Backed by an offense (minus Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner) that, to this point, has not been shut out, Brown gave up four hits, struck out two, and allowed only one run in 2.1 innings of work. Now that he's back, the trick for Tommy Hottovy and this pitching staff will be to help Brown develop more diversity in his arsenal. With the depth this team has on the mound, his development should be more than an empty endeavor. A team full of capable hurlers can provide a steady hand at the wheel in an offensive struggle and significantly alter an opponent's game plans. And that's not limited to what players the opposing manager rolls out, but it strips any mental advantage they might have. Since his surprise star turn in 2024, Shota Imanaga, one of the Cubbies' Tokyo Series starters, has been a pitcher the league spends a non-zero amount of time contemplating. He saw his most extended action of the spring this week. Going nearly three innings, the goal right now is to get Imanaga to resemble some measure of the dominant control he showed off for much of last season. It's tough to say how this abridged preparation time might affect some of his mechanics and those of his fellow starters. However, Imanaga's intangibles, such as his undeniable confidence on the mound, seem just as prominent as ever. I've echoed this sentiment since the start of spring, but the sheer balance of the 2025 Chicago Cubs is its greatest asset and will keep them at the top of the National League Central Division by early October. I'm not saying this team will go wire to wire, win the World Series, and conjure up an unimaginable season even the writers at Disney would call far-fetched. Still, I am saying this club, especially if it gets and stays fully healthy, will be one the city talks about for years to come. View full article

The outset of spring training and its symbolism in bringing a merciful end to winter is inherently supposed to be much more about who the squad could be rather than who they are. And, at least in the very early going, who they are is who you want them to be: a team poised to make the playoffs. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images In his media interactions leading up to the official start of spring game action this week, Craig Counsell, in his second year as skipper of Chicago's North Side club, was direct in his messaging for where this season's Cubs baseball team ought to be in just under eight months from now. Speaking with Marquee's Jon Sciambi and Jim Deshaies, Counsell stressed that "the playoffs are the expectation." Everyone currently donning a Cub uniform seems to be in lockstep with this vision. Things didn't start great against the defending world-champion Dodgers this past Thursday, especially with our first look at Cody Poteet, but the Cubs jumped all over David Roberts' team. Young prospects like Kevin Alcantara and Moises Ballesteros recorded key hits. They logged their first meaningful action against big league pitching from one of the premier squads in the game, no less. While it's unlikely at best to think that these young, though promising, prospects will be up in Lakeview anytime soon, they showed convincing evidence of what returns they will eventually yield. One of the Cubbies' most useful strengths from the offseason is its new-found pitching depth. At the time of this writing, the Cubs have yet to lose a game, and that's been in no small part due to a pitching staff that, in many ways, looks eager to get the real action started. Coming from an injury-plagued 2024 campaign, Jordan Wicks and Justin Steele will factor as cornerstone pieces of this pitching staff in 2025. They looked sharp at worst and entered spring camp with an obvious vigor and fire to get their club to an elevated point of contention come the dog days of summer. More than just rifling balls past opposing teams' bats, the Cubbies look poised to do more than a bit of mashing of their own. In three completed games, the Cubs have recorded a combined 37 hits. Conceding that a good handful of the pitchers they're doing it against won't even be on a major league roster by the end of the year or even a contributor in the minors, that's still pretty impressive. At this origin point of the season, the cautious optimism that most prognosticators reached a consensus on this offseason appears well warranted. Thus far, I've witnessed a squad acutely aware of its recent failures and disappointments in the eyes of fans and those from within. They're exuding the energy of a collective chip on their shoulder, but one of confidence and focus. There is still so much to figure out, including just what on earth will outfield depth pieces like Travis Jankowski and Greg Allen even do for this club. But this week, your excitement was rewarded if you were excited about Cubs baseball and what they might be. View full article

The Cubs' restructuring of the bench this winter has largely focused on defense. Now, they have one genuine bench bat—but how will they use him? Image courtesy of © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Matt Shaw will man third base during the 2025 campaign, with Jon Berti as the backup. Justin Turner is too old to play such an active defensive position, but what he's not too old to do is crush baseballs in big spots. The youth movement at the third base and center field positions is important; they should confer the advantage of good range. Turner's statistics from the past two seasons suggest that, though his power is not what it used to be in his prime as a Los Angeles Dodger, he's still quite useful. in 2024, Turner checked in with an OPS of .766. He's a tough out, and a righty, which makes him a perfect prospective pinch-hitter for Pete Crow-Armstrong. Chicago's young center fielder is about to break out, but not yet. The only rub with this switch is the matter of who takes over center field. Enter Alexander Canario. The powerful 24-year old outfielder, with only 45 total plate appearances with the big-league club, offers only a microscopic sample size from which to draw. The North Siders are high on his potential in left field, for which he should have the requisite athleticism. Does he work in center field? That's harder to say. For a few innings at a time, though, he should be able to survive. so it's viable. Pinch-hit Turner for Crow-Armstrong, come up with the go-ahead single, then turn to the young Canario to play whatever small part is asked of one defender over two or three frames to hold the lead. Call it naiveté. Call me a Ricobene's fried steak sandwich-sized homer, if you'd like. But I think Justin Turner will do something special for Chicago's North Side ball club. In so many of the Cubs' critical mid-game situations in 2024, any combination of players who frequented that role (like Mike Tauchman and Patrick Wisdom) fell short. What does Turner offer that those aforementioned players didn't? He gets on base, in a way that would make Billy Beane's face turn a deeper shade of red than you'd find on a Pequod's pizza. All jokes aside, however, this feels like a complete team now. Regardless of the arrogance loaded in Tom Ricketts's comment that "it's a privilege to play for this team", it is, in fact, a fun team to root for sometimes. Turner's addition ups the chances of this year being one of those times. View full article

After one of the most protracted processes of the offseason, the Cubs' biggest free-agent target signed with the Boston Red Sox this week. You could hear the collective sighs of disappointment, from the Cubs' headquarters in Wrigleyville down to their spring home in Mesa. Image courtesy of © Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Jed Hoyer and his braintrust made a competitive, "creative" offer, but Alex Bregman ultimately chose a different, even more unusual one. You feel dejected by it, as you should. It's clear how badly the Cubs wanted to make this happen. It's clear that new Cubs Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly would have loved to reunite with their longtime teammate. It's also clear that other organizations' baseball leadership badly wanted Bregman. The truth is, sometimes managers like Craig Counsell, A.J. Hinch, and others, shoot for second team-ups with their favorite players, and the business side intervenes. Like many other moves that never came to be, like (say) reunions between Counsell and Corbin Burnes or Willy Adames, it's easy to get frustrated by what it could have done—but it didn't come to fruition, partially because of what it couldn't have done. It couldn't, for instance, have made the team favorites to reach the World Series. But with six players in the MLB Network Top 100 Players Right Now, the Cubs are a popular choice to win their division and make their long-awaited return to the postseason. Posts on Instagram and Facebook will inform you, dear reader, that the Cubs are primed for a big year, with or without the help of the fickle Friendly Confines. And for once, maybe, I'm with them. I've never been more excited for a prospect than I am the young Matt Shaw. His 2024 slash line of .284/.379/.488 says the hype is real. He can run, he can hit, and hopefully, he will patrol the "hot corner" with ease for years to come. The baseball public won't have to wait long to get a first look at the 23-year-old infielder, as the Cubs start spring games this week. Their Cactus League campaign begins Feb. 20, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shaw is already nursing a tender oblique, but it seems so mild that he just might get into one of the early contests, anyway. So much of his chance this year will hinge on his ability to adjust throughout the exhibition schedule—and so much of the Cubs' chances will hinge on his performance, now they're without Bregman—that this week will be an important first step. Here's hoping he's ready to take it. View full article

As you read this, the Cubs' pitchers and catchers are rolling up to Sloan Park under the scorching, dry Arizona skies. Spring Training is underway, and the excitement of baseball is on the tip of our collective tongues like a shot of Jepson's Malort. Chase that thought with the reasonable playoff hopes this team holds in 2025. Even with Alex Bregman still a free agent, this Cubby squad is near-ready to take the field. Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs, through all of our warranted qualms about them, are a pretty good ball club. But with Alex Bregman, the coveted free-agent infielder, the Cubs could be great. What would be even greater is if Scott Boras, the toughest of tough cookie agents, didn't represent the 30-year-old slugger. Now, the North Siders are certainly no strangers to dealing with Boras, with Cody Bellinger and his extremely player-friendly contracts with the Cubbies serving as the best example. But if this is to get done, the time is now. The North Side of Chicago, along with teams like the Tigers, are the most likely landing spots. The stunning late-season run the Tigers had in 2024 is proof enough that magic is on their side, and the Cubbies need him more, lest they find ways to pitch their way into the postseason. On paper, arms like Ryan Pressly, Nate Pearson, and Eli Morgan make the Cubs' bullpen formidable, if not enviable. Add to that stable Ryan Brasier, whose former club, the Dodgers, and their glut of talent left him without a clear spot. At age 37, Brasier joins fellow Cub Pressly as relievers who need to win now to be useful, but he'll be plenty useful. Brasier establishes security at the closer role, once occupied by the tragic figure of the recently departed Adbert Alzolay. The Cubbies have a not insignificant number of arms to throw against their league rivals, and Brasier only adds to this formula. Traditionally, and this is universally true, expectations lead to disappointment. We are, however, at the point in the season where the Cubs have yet to fall short of any goals they've set for themselves. This is the last recap loaded with such speculations for a while. The time to pontificate on the ramifications of real baseball is right now. To quote the late, great Steve Goodman, "Baseball season's underway." View full article

When you look at where this team’s projections are, it’s hard to believe him not being a big part of it. Thanks for reading!

Over a notoriously long 162-game season, everyone involved with Major League Baseball gets to know and develop favorites. With furiously fast wheels, and spark plug/catalyst energy, the Cubs' young center fielder is about to become one such player in 2025. Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images A native of Southern California, Pete Crow-Armstrong enjoyed a 2024 campaign which saw him go from awaiting a call-up in Triple-A Iowa to being a mainstay center fielder with astonishing range, making jaw-dropping plays for Craig Counsell's ball club. Crow-Armstrong has some of the most useful speed in the game, and if his offense continues to ascend in 2025, he'll be a problem for the whole league. Whether the moment was once too big for him, or he just had an arduous time adjusting to major-league pitching, Crow-Armstrong labored through at-bats in the early stages of 2024. He played in 123 games last season, and in 410 plate appearances, he struck out 98 times. Through the summer into early fall, however, he got his OBP up to .282, while hammering 10 long balls and 13 doubles. His most impressive feat came in the top of the third in a game against the Miami Marlins, when he completely laced a pitch into deep right field, racing around the bases as the ball ricocheted away from a helpless defense and making it an inside-the-park home run. You could feel the electricity from the play all the way up on the benches at Maggie Daley Park. With each successful at-bat, the speedy outfielder's confidence grew, so much so that he eventually became a staple in the squad's everyday line up. I'm making a prediction: this will be his year. Baseball Prospectus released their PECOTA projections in full Monday, and the system is bullish on Crow-Armstrong. It forecasts a .242/.298/.398 batting line, which would be a bit underwhelming, but it would also mark a concrete step forward in offensive production. With 15 home runs and 33 stolen bases, PECOTA does forecast Crow-Armstrong to remain dynamic at the plate, and we know he'll be a huge plus in the field. Overall, he's projected for 2.4 wins above replacement player (WARP). With substantial protection in a lineup poised to deliver gaudy offensive numbers, I see more than just the default potential that he could exceed these projections. He'll struggle against the division's more stout pitching, like Paul Skenes, but will feast on much of it, especially against right-handers. If Crow-Armstrong's driven mentality and youthful resiliency allow him to keep making good adjustments, this season could be his star turn. View full article

For all of my numerous criticisms of Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, one thing about him is unimpeachable: he does what he says he's going to do. He expressed the great need to beef up his team's pitching depth, and through a plethora of acquisitions both big and small, the club has done so. Image courtesy of © Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Starter or reliever, an MLB hurler is much akin to an NFL quarterback. They're one of the first players to touch the ball on each play, and their success can often alleviate the pressure on struggling teammates. For the best evidence of this proposition, look to 2023 Justin Steele, and 2024 Shota Imanaga, two pitchers who single-handedly kept their club close in ball games they'd eventually win—or lose, in excruciating fashion. In 2023, Steele was sensational, tallying 16 wins and a tidy 3.03 ERA. The feeling was, when he pitched, the team was likely to win. Much of the same can be said of Imanaga, who was dynamite in his rookie season. He earned 15 wins, checked in with a 2.91 ERA, and was (for a time, before hitting some speed bumps in June and July) one of the favorites to take home the NL Cy Young Award. This is all to say that in 2025, the new-look pitching staff—featuring the likes of Eli Morgan, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea—will determine this squad's postseason fate, just as much as the revamped offense (with or without Alex Bregman). Both new pitchers this week, Brandon Hughes and Brad Keller, will get the chance to make an immediate impact on a pitching staff often stretched too thin by injuries last season. Keller and Hughes both signed minor-league deals, but they come to camp looking to force the issue for a much deeper group. Each has had success in the past, but neither has achieved consistency. Each fits the obvious needs left on this staff: Hughes is a left-handed reliever who could slide into line behind Luke Little and Caleb Thielbar to shore up that half of the relief corps, while Keller brings Triple-A starting depth from the right side, in lieu of the traded Hayden Wesneski. Of course, with absolute mashers like Kyle Tucker in the lineup, there should be more games that aren't even that close, in the Cubs' favor. The wait is almost over. This time next week, Cubs Spring Training will be underway and speculation about what this club can be will morph into cold hard evidence of our beloved baseball team's imminent triumphs—or failures. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. View full article