CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs team president Jed Hoyer admitted that his focus at the MLB trade deadline was on 2025 and beyond. He made moves with that in mind. But Craig Counsell isn’t giving up on 2024 just yet.
“We’re trying to win games,” Counsell said. “Let’s focus on this team trying to win games and put our energy into that.”
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That’s what managers are supposed to say. Once they stop focusing on winning games, that’s when their players start to tune out. There’s a balance between development and winning, of course. But putting winning to the side completely just can’t be part of a manager’s thought process.
But beyond wins, fans need something to keep them engaged the rest of the season. Most will likely just throw themselves into the Caleb Williams hype and try to enjoy some preseason Bears football. But for the diehards who choose to stick around, here are a few things to pay attention to.
Good first-half stories ending the season strong
For as disappointing as this season has been for the Cubs, one could argue that Hoyer’s offseason wasn’t so bad. Particularly the additions of Shota Imanaga and Michael Busch. Through 104 games, Busch has a 123 wRC+ and has rapidly improved defensively at first. After Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, one could argue Busch is right there in terms of the top defensive first basem*n in the National League. That’s what happens when someone who was just short of being a second baseman gets moved down the defensive chart.
What fans need to watch for is the potential for him to tire as the season goes along and for his offense to dip. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if it did. Just one more thing to have questions about heading into 2025. But if he can maintain this type of production or get on another hot streak, that would really be encouraging as the Cubs look for their offense to bounce back in a big way next summer.
Michael Busch hits a home run to center field in the top of the 9th inning vs. Reds pic.twitter.com/hNwwbKoc9y
— Cubs Highlights (@Cubs_Highlights) July 30, 2024
For Imanaga, fans just need to make sure it doesn’t all fall apart down the stretch. Counsell has said he has little to prove to him. Yes, he’s a rookie. But he’s a veteran of professional baseball. He’s shown incredible smarts with how he attacks hitters, adjusts during and in between starts and even with how he controls the running game and plays defense. Thursday night’s 6 2/3 innings pitched with four runs allowed on 10 hits while striking out seven batters and walking none in a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals is just one more bit of information to file away as he tries to solidify himself as one of the top starting pitchers in the league.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong’s development at the plate
Crow-Armstrong is elite defensively at a prime position. He continues to show that and that alone makes him valuable. He’s also a menace on the basepaths. Beyond just the stolen bases — he’s perfect in 20 attempts — he puts the defense on its heels as he’s always looking to take the extra base.
But he has to find a way to get on base more. Right now the offense just isn’t good enough. His 52 wRC+ needs to improve dramatically.
“Pete’s earned opportunities,” Counsell said. “I think his defensive play has been excellent. That’s what gets your bat into the lineup and lets you create these opportunities. He’s going to learn from at-bats. As long as we see learning coming from the at-bats — not on an at-bat-by-at-bat basis, but weekly and bi-weekly basis — then I feel like he’s earning more at-bats. That’s development.”
Those who have been watching him the last week likely have noticed the at-bats are significantly better. He’s chasing less often, making a ton more contact and hitting the ball hard and to the middle of the field. He probably deserves more hits than he’s gotten, but if he sticks with this approach, it should lead to better results.
Pete Crow-Armstrong lines a double into the left-center field gap, plating two runs to extend the Cubs' lead to 11-3 in the 7th pic.twitter.com/9xaFkSwIJS
— Cubs Highlights (@Cubs_Highlights) August 1, 2024
Young pitchers getting healthy
The Cubs have to get their young pitchers healthy and on the mound again. Ben Brown has just 55 1/3 innings this season and hasn’t pitched since June 8. Jordan Wicks is at 28 big-league innings and 8 2/3 at Iowa and has been shelved since June 14. This is his second IL stint. Neither is making rehab starts yet and timetables are unclear.
The Cubs have also lost Hayden Wesneski on what was believed to be a minimum IL stint but has now likely been pushed deeper into August. All three are young pitchers with a chance to impact the rotation next season. But the Cubs need more information on all of them. They have to feel more comfortable that they can impact the team positively, in whatever role it may be, so they can feel better and more confident with how they plan for their offseason.
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First these pitchers have to get on the field, though. Their lack of availability made trading Jameson Taillon a move that would have made little sense for a team president who is hell-bent on winning in 2025. It also is stunting their development as they miss out on critical innings at the highest level.
Young relievers getting opportunities
With Hunter Bigge traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the deal for Isaac Paredes, the focus will be on Porter Hodge and Nate Pearson. Hodge continues to get work in high-leverage moments and is starting to earn the trust of his manager. His strikeout rate is just a tick under 30 percent on the season and while his walk rate is above 10 percent, his control has looked better of late as he’s walked just three of the last 54 batters he’s faced.
That’s all about Hodge learning to trust his stuff, which is nasty. It can be a process for young pitchers to learn that they can get away with pounding the zone. With a cut-ride fastball that sits 95 mph and a nasty sweeper, Hodge has the type of stuff that will allow him to do so.
Pearson is all stuff right now. The immediate plan seems to be to get him to use his slider more often against lefties rather than relying solely on a fastball that’s been hit pretty hard this season, even if it does touch the upper 90s pretty regularly. The next phase, likely coming this winter, will be cleaning up his delivery, which the Cubs believe is allowing lefties to read his fastball too easily.
It would also be nice if Luke Little could get healthy in time to make a few more big-league appearances this season. That’s possible, but with how all these pitchers keep getting their returns delayed, it shouldn’t be assumed.
One final name to keep an eye on is reliever Jack Neely, who the Cubs added from the New York Yankees when they traded away Mark Leiter Jr. Neely misses bats like crazy with a mid-90s heater and a nasty slider. Both are plus pitches and should allow him to be a solid reliever. He’ll get big-league time this season and that will be important as the Cubs continue to evaluate their team in preparation for what they hope is a competitive 2025.
(Photo of Pete Crow-Armstrong: Katie Stratman / USA Today)
Sahadev Sharma is a staff writer for The Athletic and covers the Chicago Cubs. Previously, Sahadev was a national baseball writer for Baseball Prospectus and ESPN Chicago. Follow Sahadev on Twitter @sahadevsharma
