Chicago Cubs 2025 Recap: Progress or Missed Opportunity?

Chicago Cubs 2025 Recap: Progress or Missed Opportunity?

How do you evaluate the Cubs season? Some have said, I’ve actually talked to a few around Chicago that believe this was a very successful campaign for the Cubs given what they had to work with going into the year. Would you agree? Yeah. I mean, what they had to work with, considering Justin Steel got hurt, considering Kate Horton was hurt for the playoffs, it was it was a perfectly acceptable season. It was a step forward after what we’d seen in previous seasons. So in that regard, you can say there was some success. I just think, you know, with the way the season started and how good the offense looked to begin the year, how with a confidence level within the team and outside, it seemed like they had a shot at the World Series. Maybe that wasn’t the case entering the playoffs with considering the injuries and where the offense was at. Uh, and any season that ends in a loss, I feel like, you know, you didn’t al uh ultimately achieve your goals, but they it was a step forward and it was a solid season. I think it was a season they could be happy with. I just, you know, it’s hard to say it was this, you know, resounding success when that’s how it ends and you lose to the Brewers, a team that, you know, a fraction of their payroll and continues to be the class of the NL Central. They have something to chase after uh after this season. Yeah. two-part question for me. I know he didn’t have uh the year that he was hoping to have. I don’t think he was having the year the Cubs thought he would have, but did Kyle Tucker do enough to impress the Cubs to make him a priority in free agency? And the second part is, did the Cubs do a good enough job uh of impressing Kyle Tucker for him to want to come back? So, I think the Cubs are looked at as a pretty good organization as far as taking care of their players, taking care of players families, all those things. Uh, players that I talked to seem to really be happy with how the Cubs run things. I do believe Kyle Tucker liked Chicago, especially in the first half. He was well loved by the really loved by the Wrigley faithful. things changed in the second half, whether it was injuries, uh, ineffectiveness, whatever it was, he wasn’t as good, nearly as good as that first half. That first half he was an MVP candidate. The second half he didn’t play much, and when he did play, he wasn’t at that same level. Uh, I I think in general, it was going to be hard for the Cubs to resign him. I just I think they looked at this as a one-year thing and if things kind of worked in their favor somehow, maybe they would be able to resign him. The Cubs, the reality is the Cubs do not spend like a top five uh market. They are a top three market and they spend uh like a you know middle tier market. That’s just how it is. Uh I don’t think uh I don’t think it it should be that way, but it’s just kind of how it’s been for a few years now. and and you kind of have to analyze it going forward with that knowledge in mind. Uh so I don’t think they’re going to resign him. I’d be surprised by it. I don’t think he’s going to get that $400 million deal we were talking about uh six months ago. I I think it may be in the 200s and I still don’t think the Cubs will sign him because it’s going to be six or seven years or something like that. And and that’s just not where the Cubs heads are at. I think they they will spend that type of money on certain players. I don’t think Kyle Tucker is that guy. I do think the injuries and the ineffectiveness and and maybe that calf injury, especially at the end of the year, uh, and how long it took for him to come back from that, that may that may color some of his time with the Cubs. And I think it may end up leading to him it could end up leading to him getting a little less money than a lot of us expected. So, he finished actually 3% higher OPS plus than his career. So, if he had his first half and the second half, would you have would you change your tone or would the Cubs also be in the NLCS if he had the first half that he had in if he had the his first half in the second half? That’s a that’s a really good question. I I do think part of this is is narrative and and recency bias. I I struggle with it, too. I’m but I’m just going off what I I’ve heard as far as my understanding of where the Cubs are at. Uh I and yes, I I do think we’d be talking a little bit differently about Kyle Tucker. We’d be talking a little bit differently about the Cubs in general if he had that se that first half and the second half. It’s just natural. We’d be talking about, wow, look at this guy stepping up down the stretch uh and and his postseason performance, this guy’s clutch and things like that. It’s just the reality of the situation. And he didn’t have a bad playoffs. Uh but that final game, he was the one that stepped to the plate in the biggest moment for the Cubs. uh and that they they had only one real threat and he stepped to the plate with nobody out and two men on and and he didn’t come through. That doesn’t mean he he failed overall. I just don’t don’t think he he delivered what some people kind of expected from him. Probably Michael Bush delivered the postseason that a lot of people hoped Kyle Tucker could give. Uh yeah, I do think there are some narrative narratives being built here. Uh but I also do think it’s just it’s a long shot. no matter what, the Cubs were just a long shot to sign him. They just don’t spend like that. And and uh I don’t know what he’s going to get, but I do feel like the Cub he ends up somewhere else. And and you know, a lot of people were talking about Tampa. I I I wonder if that ends up being the place. I’m not sure if if others like if he if he fits in like uh New York or or other huge markets like that. Not that he was like bad with the media or anything like that. I just I think he likes to, you know, avoid us and and that’s nothing against him. You know, everyone’s different, but I I think he prefers to just keep to himself and go play baseball and and do his thing. Uh maybe that doesn’t work in every market. Okay. What Cubs team showed up for the series? Was it the Cubs team that in the first inning? Was it the first? Was it Michael Bush? Was it Seiya Suzuki? And oh man, we’re going to beat these guys. You know, screw the Brewers. and or was it the team that struggled to consistently add on runs throughout the season and then in this series it kind of came to a head. I like if I had to pick a reason they lost I think it’s the pitching and I think it’s the first two games of the series. I think watching the playoffs, I feel as if pitching is king and and you just do whatever you can, no matter what type of offense you are, to kind of grind out runs and get two, three, four runs. If you can get to four, that’s that seems like you’re really safe. Uh, but they didn’t have enough pitching at the start. Kate Horton going down completely changed the way their their pitching staff looked. It it just it changed everything as far as a thinking of how they had to go about business and then show struggles really impacted this team. Those two things completely changed how the postseason looked for them. Uh that show Imanaga didn’t pitch in game five I think tells us a lot about their confidence level and maybe even his confidence level in in in his ability to get you know outs. Uh I would not I’m I’m shocked that I’m saying that to be honest. he did not seem like someone that you would lack confidence in to get big outs uh you know at the beginning of this season, even in the middle of this season. So that that his uh star has fallen faded so quickly uh is a surprise. I I I do think the offense didn’t show up. I I I think it’s hard to really jump on them because I think that’s just playoff baseball. You got to find ways to score a couple runs here and there. They didn’t do it in game five. They they scored enough. Generally, uh, you know, you need to score three. They should have added on more. Absolutely. You have to come through in more situations. You have to put more pressure on the opposition. I just think the Brewers threw a lot of good pitchers at him. Their relief group was better than I realized. Uh, I I think or maybe wanted to admit at times. Uh, Miserowski had a really good series against them. Some big outs for for the Brewers, especially in that uh final game. uh he he’s someone that I’ve watched struggle in moments and look terrible and then just is locked in and it seemed like he was locked in in his two appearances with the Cubs. There were moments when he first came out in that what I believe it was game two when he came out and I said this guy doesn’t have it. He was kind of spraying the ball all over the place and then he just quickly locked in and it was downhill for the Cubs from there. Uh, but good like I I’d credit the Brewers pitching more than anything and and kind of say the Cubs just didn’t have it in those first two games pitching wise. Matthew Boyd on three days rest showed him struggling. It it sunk them. Yeah, I think I think with a healthy Justin Steel, you would probably put him in game one and you trust him being able to go out and, you know, go toe-to-toe with an ace. Do you feel like they missed that window once he went down? I know it was early in the year, but to be able to try to go on and add a guy to kind of replace him for foreshadowing if we get into the playoffs, we need a legitimate number one to go against every other team’s number one. I just I I agree that they needed to do that. I don’t know if that guy was available at a reasonable cost because the guys that really moved the needle in my opinion were like Joe Ryan. Uh some of the Marlins guys, even McKenzie Gore, I know he had a really bad second half, but those were the guys at the deadline that you could have pointed to and said, uh that moves the needle. None of those guys were moved. And from my understanding, the prices were pretty exorbitant. they would have had to give up either. You’re talking about either uh Kade Horton or Matt Shaw and and that’s something that I don’t think they wanted to take away from their major league roster and I understand that that thought process. You give up Kate Horton. I think he’s someone you mentioned Justin Steel, he’s someone I think could have matched I think he could have had a coming out party in the postseason. this guy, you talk to him, you listen to him, you talk, you listen to the way others talk about him, you understand, oh, not only does he have stuff, not only was he improving as like each start out, but he also has the mentality that that teams crave from a starting pitcher. This guy is not afraid of any challenge, uh, he hits a rough patch and and all he wants to do is fight through it and get better and learn from it. Uh really impressive guy to talk to, really impressive to hear from the coaches. It that they thought so highly of him right away. Uh tells me a lot about him. I think he he’s a guy that, you know, as long as he stays healthy, I think this is a guy that in a year from now we’re going to be saying, does does Kate Horton deserve Sai Young votes? Things like that. I I really think he he’s uh he’s got a high upside, and that’s a guy you should watch. But I agree, they they should have gone there. I there wasn’t that pitcher moved, but they needed to do something and and it, you know, hindsight is 2020, but we were all saying it at the deadline. They’re going to go get a starter. They’re going to go get a starter. They went and got Michael Sokco. Just didn’t impact the team as as they had hoped. So, it it it didn’t work out and and it looks like it it bit them. This is for everyone listening right now. What are you wearing right now? And why isn’t it MeUndies Craft? It is time for everyone to upgrade and get that super soft micro modal glory. So good that you don’t want to take it off. The reason I’m stonefacing you is because that’s how soft they are. It’s ridiculous. Like it feel I don’t even understand what kind of material it is. It’s got to be something space age for your butt. Signature super soft micro modal fabric. breathable, stretchy, unbelievably cozy. And now you can even get glowinthe-dark, part of the Halloween line. Right now, as a listener of FT, you can get cozy and spooky for less with deals up to 50% off at meundies.com/fal. Enter promo code FUL. That’s meundies.com/fal. Promo code foul for up to 50% off meundies. Comfort that’s made for fall. Pete Crow Armstrong played his entire season. 20 his 23 year old season all-star. Is his approach and the way that he goes about his approach at the plate? I get it. He made some ridiculous catches in the outfield in the postseason. Is his approach something that he and the organization want to maybe change? I think he had 29 walks and 155 strikeouts. Is that something that they want to change or do they just want him to have more success and figure it out that way? because his on base percentage just started to decline the whole year. And then when you get to the postseason, teams are like, “Oh, well, he’s going to swing at the Rosenbag, so we’ll go ahead and just throw that to him.” Yep. Yeah, it’s a fair question. I don’t know. It’s a risk, too, when you start talking about changing someone’s approach that’s already in the major leagues. Uh, that’s really risky and we’ve seen it go sideways. We’ve seen it with the Cubs go sideways. I go back to Starland Castro when they tried to do that with him and tried to tap into more power, get more walks, it it just it went really sideways and altered his career. It can work. It it can uh and he’s certainly a hard worker. uh you know, as as much as he he gets criticized for being so emotional on the field, uh highs or lows, I there’s no doubt that he’s highly respected by the veterans for, you know, putting in work and and and wanting to get better. So, I I think if they have a plan in place, I I’d be surprised if the plan is like you need to take more walks, don’t swing as much. Uh you know, the swing decisions are probably something he’ll continue to work on. I do think that improved as the season went on. Obviously, he was exposed in the playoffs. There are certain holes. Uh, you know, obviously the scouting reports get much more specific. You get a ton more information and and the pitchers are just better. Uh, especially some of those Padres’s pitchers that were uh going that they were going up against, Freddy Peralta. These are guys that can specifically expose that their stuff specifically exposes Picoern’s biggest holes. Uh, I I agree that he something needs to change and I maybe that’s just natural development. Uh, I also think that this may be kind of what Pete Armstrong is really high highs, some pretty bad lows and then it’s about minimizing those lows over the course of his career. Uh, I don’t think I think we all, myself included, we probably got carried away in that first half. Oh, is this who this guy is? And I think we were kind of came back down to earth and said, “Okay, he’s going to have normal ups and downs and the ups are just so high that you could just it it it takes you to this level where you’re like, “Wow, this guy’s a superstar.” Certainly performs like one at times. Uh but he’s a flawed offensive player. And I I’d be surprised if there’s major changes. Uh I think there’s you could hope for and expect natural development for a young player. Uh I I just don’t know if he’s going to be a guy that we see a high walk percentage for. I think his on base percentage is going to be based upon his his batting average and and for him like that’s that may not be the highest and you have to hope that this power is real and sticks around otherwise you know what he is is a really good defensive player with a ton of value there and and if he can be an average offensive player that’s still a really good player but I think he just set expectations so high in this first half that you know we’re we’re always going to be wondering can he be that guy for a full season for a full career. Man, it sounds like you were talking about me at the end. You know, good defender, average offense, still valuable, man. You can play a long time doing that. Uh, but speaking of like breakouts, Pete Armstrong, we talked about I don’t think Michael Bush gets enough credit for what he did this year, but I love kind of talking about the old guys in the game, the veterans. You know, I wish I had a hat that said keep old guys employed. um talk about kind of the impact that Justin Turner had maybe on those two young guys, but maybe just the entire culture of the Cubs. Yeah, I think it was huge. I don’t think you can overstate it. Uh I came into this business very much a numbers guy and underrated the stuff going on in a clubhouse. I’ve been in clubouses for 15 years now over that and and it I would you know I’ve learned a lot about the value and the intangibles that these guys can bring. I I do believe there’s some younger leaders in that clubhouse. Nico her stands out to me. Ian Hap is is a good clubhouse guy. Uh but a veteran like Justin Turner who has been through it all, who has been a star on a team, who has hit who hit a really big home run against the Cubs in the postseason. uh he’s he’s seen a lot. He’s done a lot. And then so not only has does he have that experience, but he comes into a situation where he could he could complain. He could say, “I should be playing more. I I need more playing time. Look at my, you know, look at look at what I’ve done in my career.” Not never once did he do that. Never once did I hear a complaint from a coach like, “This guy’s just, you know, in the clubhouse telling everyone how great he is.” Nothing like that. That that’s not who he is. I I think uh through his career, he learned that. He learned like, okay, this is where I am now in my career and this is the role I can hold and I want to be great at it. I want to do this and I want to do it well. Uh you’d see him a lot of times uh putting his arm around a guy in in the in the dugout and kind of calming them down. Hey, we need you. We we’re going to need you later in the season. We’re going to need you later in this game. Whatever it may be. And and from my understanding, he’d also get on them. uh he wasn’t afraid to call someone out and tell them you need to, you know, this is how you behave in the big leagues. This is what you need to do. This is the type of work you need to put in. Whatever it may be, he wasn’t afraid to call guys out. And and I think have do being able to do both is is hard uh in any area of life. Like I know as a dad it’s hard for me sometimes to be the bad guy, but like it’s it’s it’s sometimes what’s needed. It’s the you know, and he was really good at it. I was impressed when talking to him and and just when hearing from others uh players that barely impacted the playoffs or in any way spoke really highly of them. Young guys that Ben Brown I think made one appearance and and just gushed about uh Justin Turner. I I think he had a major impact on this team and and I he probably, you know, years from now we’re going to hear he had a he had a lasting impact. something that uh you know hopefully helped guys grow in some way and and it leads to a longer career or gives them some perspective in the game that they that helps them get through future difficult moments. I’ve seen this rivalry firsthand, the Cubs and Brewers. How as seeing it from the Cubs side and hearing fans, Cubs fans, how have they reacted to the hanging the L flag in their team picture when they had already beaten the team? As much as I could say, you know what, I’m a Brewers side of this argument, I’m never a side of rubbing it in their face. But is it is it fair to the victor goes the spoils? You know, for me it’s kind of just like you you win, you get to do what you want and celebrate how you want. I do think there are some fans that were like what are you doing like go like you you have you know you beat us just enjoy it like are we in your heads? Why are you still thinking about us even like what’s the and I get that like maybe they do obsess a little bit over uh think too much about the Cubs. I mean, the Cubs are the supposed to be the big bad Cubs. They’re the big spenders. They’re the ones that can do all these things. And the Brewers keep beating them and and they don’t get much recognition. I think they’re starting to. I I I’ve certainly changed my tune over the past few years. I used to say that they can’t keep doing this. Guess what? They can. They’re really good. That’s a great organization, just so well-run, and it’s a model organization. More teams should look to them and say, “How do they do what they are doing? And how can we replicate that?” It’s it’s not easy. I could tell you that uh it it seemed a little over the top, but I also I I just defer to well, they won, so they get to do what they want. Uh but I I can certainly tell you that fans were annoyed by it and thought it was a little petty and thought it was a kind of like what you know, wow, you can’t get the Cubs out of your mind type situation. It was prepared. Someone has to have that sign ready to go. So, they were prepped. Somebody was like, I hope no one sees this if we lose. Yeah, there’s a fan in the front row that always has it at Brewers games whenever the Cubs whenever the Cubs come in. So, they took it from the fan. Yep. And then that’s pretty organic. That seems harmless. I mean, they’re singing New York, New York, you know, and all that with preparation for these postgame ceremonies is the ultimate sign of confidence and belief in your team. Now, that’s what I’m starting to gather because I was witness firsthand the New York New York situation. that wasn’t uh made up in the moment. That was kind of premeditated. So, I think much like you said, the Brewers, even though it was there, someone had the whereabouts to be like, if we no, not if, when we win this game, I’m going to take that flag. So, maybe that’s the new sign of ultimate belief in your team and confidence where you can already prepare these celebrations. Yeah, exactly. I mean, some Cubs fans that I guess forgot 2016 thought the best moment of their life was, you know, for an inning shouting Freddy and him giving up a home run as if they were impacting the game. So whatever makes people happy these days,

Chicago Cubs reporter Sahadev Sharma—co-host of North Side Territory and writer for The Athletic—joins Foul Territory to evaluate Chicago’s season and what’s next. We dig into injuries to Justin Steele and Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga’s late struggles, and why Milwaukee Brewers pitching tilted the series. Sahadev explains why a Kyle Tucker reunion is unlikely given Chicago’s spending profile, the development path for Pete Crow-Armstrong, and how Justin Turner impacted the clubhouse. Plus: the Cubs–Brewers rivalry heat (yes, the “L” flag) and the blueprint for upgrading the rotation this winter.

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