Chicago Cubs - The Covid-19 Years (2020-2029)

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2020

Decade

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Titles:

Top Cubs Players of the Twenty Twenties

2020 - Won Division, WC Lost to Miami

Pitchers:

Ballpark:

Kyle Hendricks (3.02) - 24

Wrigley Field

Justin Steele (8.23) - 18

Shota Imanaga (3.1) - 12

Team Name:

Jameson Taillon (2.1) - 12

Cubs

Drew Smyly (1.91) - 11

Adbert Alzolay (3.4) - 10

Owners:

Marcus Stroman (4.15) - 10

Thomas S Ricketts

Yu Darvish (2.63) - 8

Craig Kimbrel (0.27) - 7

General Managers:

Keegan Thompson (2) - 6

Jed Hoyer (2021-2021 kicked upstairs to President in '22)

Alec Mills (0.9) - 6

Carter Hawkins (2022-2025)

Rowan Wick (0.27) - 5

David Robertson (1.94) - 5

Managers:

Javier Assad (4.83) - 5

David Ross (2020-2023)

Hector Neris (0.1) - 5

Craig Counsell (2024-25)

Catchers:

Hall of Famers:

Willson Contreras (9.06) - 24

None

Yan Gomes (2.47) - 7

Rookie of the Year:

First Basemen:

None

Anthony Rizzo (2.36) - 11

Michael Busch (2.83) - 7

MVP

None

Second Basemen:

Nico Hoerner (14.77) - 31

Cy Young:

None

ShortStop:

Dansby Swanson (8.8) - 20

No Hitters:

Javier Baez (3.5) - 11

2020 - Alec Mills (Milwaukee)

2021 - (Davies, Tapera, Chafin, Kimbrel) (LA)

Third Base:

2024 - (Imanaga, Pearson, Hodge) (Pirates)

Patrick Wisdom (3.36) - 12

Kris Bryant (2.72) - 9

Notable Events:

Outfield:

2020 - Chicago extended its above .500 streak to six in '20 with their third

Ian Happ (13.98) - 37

Division title during that span. The Cubs lost the Wild Card to Miami.

Seiya Suzuki (8.16) - 23

Unfortunately, as the decade opens, the Bruins appear to be getting

Cody Bellinger (4.4) - 20

farther and farther away from being the elite team that they were in the

Christopher Morel (2.64) - 13

first four years of the run ('15 thru '18). The pitching is still elite, but the

Rafael Ortega (2.3) - 10

hitters, who are still in their prime in '20, have mysteriously gone from elite

Jason Heyward (1.32) - 6

to below average. What started out looking like a potential dynasty led by

Pete Crow-Armstrong (2.3) - 5

a bunch of young talented hitters is slowly fizzling out.

Notable Events:

□ Thomas S Ricketts has owned the club since 2009 and, after a rocky start,

has presided over a successful organization. He showed great management

2024 - The Cubs sign manager Craig Counsell away from the Brewers.

savvy in hiring away superb GM Theo Epstein from the Red Sox organization.

Definitely a coup. Forty million does a lot of persuading

Epstein, who rose to President of the club, was reluctantly let go because

Theo wanted an ownership stake in the club which Ricketts wasn't interested

2024 - Chicago underachieved big time in '23 based on their runs totals

in providing. Coincidentally or not, the club's good fortunes on the field have

and based on the fact that they collapsed down at the end.

left right along with Epstein.

The team definitely is in the hunt for the Division title. The rest of the

Division is competitive, but no standout teams. It should be a close race.

□ Jed Hoyer was Cubs GM from 2011 thru 2020. He was kicked upstairs

to team President when Epstein resigned. Hoyer had previously worked with

Offense:

Epstein in Boston, briefly moved to San Diego and then reunited with Epstein

The Cubs were above average offensively in '23 and should be again in '24

in Chicago. Now that Epstein is about to depart, we'll get a chance to see how

Plus there are several intriguing youngsters who could be difference makers

good Hoyer is, flying solo. Carter Hawkins took over as GM a year later in '22.

if they break out this season. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best of them

Also 3B Matt Shea and OF Owen Caissie.

□ David Ross took over for legendary Joe Maddon in '20 and the club

The team has good power with five guys topping 20 homers and

improved. An infusion of young blood. That being said, the hitters continued

2B Nico Hoerner is a force on the basepaths.

to decline which is a problem for Ross moving forward.

Ironically, the two weak offensive positions are DH and 1B with the loss

of FA Jeimer Candelario.

2021 - The mini-run is over. The Cubs crash and burn to a 71-91 mark.

□ C Yan Gomes, 36, '23 journeyman FA from A's, 10 63 .267

The offense, which had been declining from the halcyon days, stayed pretty

□ 2B Nico Hoerner, 27, '18 1st round pick, 9 68 .283

much the same in '21 as it was in '20. However, the pitching went from giving up

□ SS Dansby Swanson, 30, '23 star FA from Braves, 22 80 .244

four runs a game to over five. No bueno.

□ 3B Christopher Morel, 25, '15 IFA, 26 70 .247

The big loss was the Cubs jettisoning ace Yu Darvish's contract, which had

□ OF Ian Happ, 29, '15 9th overall pick, 21 84 .248

two years remaining, in a trade with San Diego for righty Zach Davies

□ OF Seiya Suzuki 29, '22 FA from Japan, 20 74 .285

plus others. Starters Adbert Alzolay, Davies and Jake Arietta went a

□ OF Cody Bellinger, 28, '23 star FA from Dodgers, 26 97 .307

combined 16-36 with an ERA approaching six.

What will potentially hold the Cubs back is their pitching. Lefty Justin

2023 - The Cubs improve nine games in the standings to move to 83-79

Steele came out of nowhere last year to be an ace. Can he repeat?

and above .500. Chicago underachieved in '23 as their runs totals

They may need righty Cade Horton, 22, the seventh overall pick in the

indicated a 90-72 mark and a nineteen game improvement runs-wise.

22 draft to step up this season. Lefty Drew Smyly, 34, Righty Jameson

Generally, when that occurs, it's the bullpen that's blowing the close ones and

Taillon, 31, and Righty Kyle Hendricks, 34, are not an awe inspiring

that was the case in '23. The team also faltered, big time, down the stretch.

rest of the rotation. Losing Marcus Stroman to the Yankees hurts.

If they fix the bullpen, they are not far from being a legitimate contender

The bullpen was decent last year but not deep.

The biggest contributors to the improvement were free agents star shortstop

Danby Swanson from the Braves and outfielder Cody Bellinger from

2025 - The arrow is up for the Cubs despite their stalling at 83-79 in '24.

the Dodgers and the emergence of Lefty Justin Steele as an ace.

Chicago had a huge acquisition in the off season picking up star OF

Kyle Tucker in his contract walk year for for 1st round pick Cam Smith in a

trade with the Astros. According to Tucker's WAR over the last few years his

acquisition should translate to six more wins for the Cubs in '25.

Other than that, it's a group where their 83-79 record was appropriate

for the talent at hand. That all would project them to 89 wins in '25.

2025 Pitching:

The Cubs have a solid group of starters. A cut below championship callibre

but enough to get them to sneak into the playoffs.

□ LHP Shota Imanaga 31, '24 FA from Japan, 15-3 2.91

□ LHP Justin Steele 29, '14 draft 5th round pick, 5-5 3.07

□ RHP Jameson Taillon 33, '23 FA from Yankees, 12-8 3.27

□ RHP Javier Assad, 27, '15 IFA, 7-6 3.73

□ RHP Tyson Miller, 29, '15 IFA, 5-1 2.15

□ RHP Porter Hodge, 24, '15 IFA, 3-1 1.88

2025 Hitting:

Just like the pitching, outside of Tucker, it’s a solid, but not a spectacular

group. Most of the guys you wouldn't be surprised if they ended up with

around a .700 OPS. And closer to 800 for guys like OF Ian Happ, OF Seiya

Suzuki, SS Dansby Swanson and 1B Michael Busch.

They've got three youngsters that they hope will bolster the lineup:

C Miguel Amaya, 25, 3B Matt Shaw, 23, and OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 23.