2024 season: Eliminated on Sept. 21, 2nd in NL Central
Let’s take a look at the season that was for the 2024 Chicago Cubs, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for 2025.
Read more: 2024 MLB offseason previews: What’s next for the White Sox, Reds, Angels and more?
Things that went right
The Cubs were led by their starting pitchers this year, as Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad and Justin Steele were all effective across more than 20 starts. Imanaga was especially impressive, leading the team in wins, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. The 31-year-old also proved to be durable, as he stayed off the injured list throughout the season. Steele’s performance was also notable, as he overcame a pair of IL stints to log an ERA in the range of 3.00 for the third straight year.
Although the top offensive performances were less notable, both Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ deserve credit for productive seasons. Suzuki continued to reach base at a high rate while surpassing the 20-homer plateau for a second straight year. He also diversified his offensive game by recording his first double-digit steals total. Meanwhile, Happ produced career-best marks in homers, RBI and runs scored.
Things that went wrong
A few veteran position players endured disappointing seasons in 2024. Cody Bellinger was the headliner of that group, as his year-over-year OPS dropped by more than 100 points. A lower BABIP and small changes to his barrel rate were among the contributing factors to his decline. Dansby Swanson also struggled, and his decline was primarily related to decreased power production. That said, Swanson deserves credit for continuing to play strong defense at shortstop. Nico Hoerner was the third veteran who took a step back. Like Bellinger, he was primarily felled by a decline in batted-ball luck.
The relief corps fared well overall, but the team struggled to settle on its primary options. Adbert Alzolay blew a save on Opening Day and wound up giving the team six inconsistent weeks before being shut down due to a forearm injury that eventually required surgery. Julian Merryweather was another late-inning reliever who followed a successful 2023 season by struggling with injuries and ineffectiveness this year. Héctor Neris did his best to fill in as the closer but was far from dominant and was eventually released…