Injuries pile up, stars slump, and the revamped bullpen falters. The Cubs face significant challenges early in their challenging season.
The Chicago Cubs are searching right now.
Despite beating the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 7-6 on Sunday afternoon, the Cubs are just 7-7 in their first 14 games.
Starting the season 7-7 is not a great look for the Cubs, especially given the team’s favorable schedule to begin the year. The North Siders only won two of their first five series, and now their schedule gets much tougher.
After playing the Nationals, Angels, Guardians, Rays, and Pirates, the Cubs have games upcoming against the Phillies (three), Mets (three), Phillies (four), Dodgers (three), and Padres (three). That’s a brutal stretch of games for a team that hasn’t played great so far.
Here are the three biggest concerns with this Cubs team right now.
Injuries
Injuries have been a major problem for the Cubs to start the season. Seiya Suzuki began the year on the 10-day injured list due to a knee injury, and both the rotation and bullpen are currently dealing with a handful of injuries right now.
Cade Horton is set to undergo Tommy John surgery soon and will be out for the remainder of the season. Matthew Boyd is recovering from a left bicep strain. Phil Maton recently went on the IL due to a right knee issue, and Hunter Harvey was just placed on the IL with right triceps inflammation before Sunday’s game.
These pitcher injuries are somewhat concerning at this point. The Cubs are currently down their top two starters and two impactful bullpen arms. Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins is also dealing with a sore arm that adds another injury to this list.
Stars Slumping
A large reason why the Cubs are sitting at .500 at this point in the season is their offense. The offense is definitely scuffling right now, and many of the team’s stars aren’t providing much at the plate.
Alex Bregman, Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and Dansby Swanson are all hitting under .200, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is batting just .207. Those five hitters have not posted the numbers they should.
While those hitters will eventually break out of their early-season slumps, it’s hard to ignore how poor each of those five hitters has looked offensively. Players like Busch and Crow-Armstrong have to put up better at-bats at the plate.
New-Look Bullpen
The Cubs were extremely aggressive this offseason in revamping their bullpen. They signed Maton to a two-year deal, gave Harvey a $6 million one-year deal, and signed Jacob Webb to a one-year deal.
However, those three relievers have struggled out of the gate. Maton had a 13.50 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP in five appearances before landing on the 15-day IL. Harvey had a 6.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in four appearances before going on the 15-day IL on Sunday, and Webb has a 4.76 ERA across 5 ⅔ innings.
The Cubs’ bullpen simply has to be better moving forward. This new-look bullpen has not held its own in the early going.