The Chicago Cubs have been highly competitive in the last two seasons under manager Craig Counsell. The Cubs played well for the majority of the 2024 season before they fell short at the end of the year and missed the playoffs. They were quite a bit better last year as they challenged the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central title before settling for a solid second-place finish.
The Cubs (92-70) had some success in the postseason, beating the San Diego Padres in the opening Wild Card round in 3 games, before losing in the divisional playoffs to the Brewers in 5 games.
There was no panic from team president Jed Hoyer and Counsell at any point in the last two seasons. There has been slow but steady progress with the current management regime, and there should be even more growth in the 2026 season.
They have a solid lineup led by returnees Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson. Busch, Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki all exceeded the 30 home run mark, while Swanson had 24 home runs while playing at shortstop at a stellar level.
Additionally, Nico Hoerner is not a power hitter, but he is a dynamic winner at 2nd base. His name was mentioned in trade talks throughout the offseason because he will be a free agent at the end of the season, but the Cubs wisely held on to him. Hoerner slashed .297/.345/.394 with 7 home runs, 64 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases while playing at a stellar defensive level.
Bregman is big addition for the Cubs
The big addition for the Cubs is Alex Bregman at 3rd base. After playing 9 brilliant seasons with the Houston Astros, Bregman moved on to the Boston Red Sox last year after signing a 3-year free-agent contract. That deal with Boston contained opt-outs after the 2025 and '26 seasons, and he took advantage of that clause by going back on the free-agent market in the offseason.
Bregman had professed his love for the Red Sox organization, but he signed a 5-year, $175 million deal with the Cubs and he will replace promising Matt Shaw at 3rd base.
Bregman is a stellar fielder and he blasted 18 home runs and drove in 62 runs in 114 games for the Red Sox. He missed about 25 percent of the '25 season with a quad injury, and there are questions about whether he can stay healthy for a full season at the age of 32.
Bregman has already made an impression during spring training as being something of a “coach on the field” for all of his teammates, but he had that same reputation with the Red Sox. Loyalty may not be his strong suit. He followed the money to the Windy City.
Battle in the bullpen for the Cubs
The biggest spring training battle that Counsell and the Cubs have on their hands in the bullpen. The Cubs did not have an established closer for the majority of the '25 season, as the manager regularly went with his hottest pitcher in tough closing situations.
That is not going to be the case in 2026, as Daniel Palencia has already been named as the team's closer. Palencia has earned that role based on his performance last season. However, that is a new responsibility and Palencia will have to prove himself worthy of the role on an every-game basis.
Palencia may have had a losing record last year at 1-6, but he was solid in all his key numbers. He pitched 52.2 innings with a 2.91 earned run average and 61 strikeouts. He was able to handle the closer's responsibilities last year as he had 22 saves while finishing 38 games last year.
Palencia demonstrated remarkable improvement from his 2023 and '24 seasons with the Cubs. He looked like he was hanging on to his big-league career by his finger tips in those seasons, as he had a 4.45 ERA in '23 and a 6.14 ERA during the following season.
“No one sitting here a year ago thought that he’d be pitching as a closer, pitching huge innings in the middle of the game in the playoffs,” Hoyer said, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. “He did an amazing job. I think his maturation was obvious to everyone. We’re super excited about him.”
Palencia may have to hold off Phil Maton in order to hold on to the job. The Cubs also have Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey and Hoby Milner playing key roles in the bullpen.
Maton has had 9 seasons in the big leagues and he split the 2025 season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. He was 4-5 overall with a 2.79 ERA while striking out 81 batters in 61.1 innings. He had 5 saves last year in limited closing opportunities, but the improvement over previous seasons could give Counsell the option of making a change in the closer's role if it is needed.
