The start of the 2026 Major League Baseball season is just a few days away. After an extremely long offseason filled with plenty of surprises, regular season games will be back on our screens once again. 

It was an extremely active offseason for the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs entered the offseason with two main things to address before the season. They had to improve their rotation and find a replacement for Kyle Tucker. 

And the front office did exactly that. 

The Cubs traded for Edward Cabrera to solve their pitching problems and signed Alex Bregman to a massive five-year, $175 million deal to essentially replace Tucker at the top of the lineup. Those two moves made this a successful offseason. 

But how do the rotation, bullpen, and lineup stack up entering the season? Let’s break down and grade each group ahead of the 2026 campaign.

This Cubs rotation heading into the season is better than people might realize. The North Siders will enter Opening Day with a starting rotation consisting of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Cabrera. 

While there are some question marks surrounding all of these pitchers, this is a really solid group. Having Taillon, who has finished with a sub-3.70 ERA in back-to-back seasons, as your No. 5 starter shows just how deep this rotation really is in 2026. 

Then, Justin Steele will eventually be added to this group sometime in May/June. Steele is one of the most underrated pitchers in the game and has posted an ERA under 3.20 in each of his three full Major League seasons. 

Grade: B

Jed Hoyer did a nice job revamping this bullpen this offseason. The Cubs re-signed left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar and added some notable relievers like Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey in free agency. 

Those five relievers and closer Daniel Palencia give Chicago a formidable bullpen. Maton is a solid setup man in the later innings, Milner is a workhorse reliever, Webb has been consistent in each of the past two years, and Harvey has been a top reliever in baseball when healthy. 

Now, this group isn’t elite by any means. The front office whiffed on some higher-end relievers in free agency, and the loss of Brad Keller does hurt. But this new look bullpen is a solid group and will get the job done. 

Grade: B-

There isn’t much difference between last year’s lineup and this year’s lineup. The only differences are that Bregman will replace Tucker, and Moises Ballesteros will replace Matt Shaw when a right-handed pitcher is on the mound. 

That makes this a solid all-around lineup. Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki are coming off career years, and Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, and Carson Kelly are all consistent forces in the lineup. 

After ranking sixth in total runs last season, the Cubs should be a top offense again in 2026. Their lineup from top to bottom is really strong, and there aren’t many weaknesses in the order with the addition of Bregman. 

Note: This is when the Cubs are at full strength.

Grade: A-