The Cubs are the one big-market team in the NL Central. They are consistently in the top half of the league in team payroll and always hovering around the top 10. In 2019, they topped out with the third-highest team payroll in the game, and this season, they enter the year with their highest team payroll, sitting at $222M. Their biggest offseason spend was on former World Series champion Alex Bregman, who could be the final piece they need to make a World Series run.

MORE: World Series power rankings entering March

THE LINEUP

Oct 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) reacts after striking out against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

President of baseball ops, Jed Hoyer, does a great job of mixing home-grown talent with free agents. He strategically identifies the team’s needs and aggressively attacks. In 2024, he identified Craig Counsell to be the team’s manager and signed him to a 5yr/$40M deal. Also in 2024, he signed two Cubs to extensions, with infielder Nico Hoerner and outfielder Ian Happ getting three-year deals. In 2022, he signed OF Seiya Suzuki to a 5yr/$85M deal. In 2023, he signed SS Dansby Swanson to a 7yr/$177M deal. And this offseason, he signed 3B Alex Bregman to a 5yr/$175M deal. 

While this is a veteran team, with all of them over 30 or entering their age-30 season, the key to the season may be in one of their younger players. Pete Crow-Armstrong is only 23 yrs old and has already shown flashes of greatness. In just his second season, he put up some prodigious numbers. He was a 90/90 (runs and RBIs), and a 30/30 (HRs and SBs), guy. And he added an OPS of .768. The biggest knock against him is his OBP, which was under .300. If he can reduce his 155 strikeouts and increase his bat-to-ball skills, he has the potential to be a 40/40 player…and dare I say 50/50???

THE ROTATION

Hoyer’s approach is the same with his pitching staff. In 2023, he signed Jamison Taillon to a 4yr/$68M deal. And in 2024, he signed Shota Imanaga to a 4yr/$53M deal. Last year, he signed Matt Boyd to a 2yr/$29M deal. The key with all of these signings is that they are all manageable deals…Hoyer learned well from his mentor, Theo Epstein.

The team is bringing back their entire rotation…have I mentioned that they are veteran team? Their core rotation each started a minimum of 22 games last season, with Boyd leading the way with 31 starts. And all of them posted sub-4.00 ERAs. If they can repeat this success, they could make a deep playoff run all the way to the World Series.

BULLPEN

May 31, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Daniel Palencia (48) reacts after the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

If I can find one fault with this team, it’s in their bullpen. They had 12 pitchers record at least one save last season. In Hockey, if you have two goalies, you have none. In baseball, if you have 12 guys getting a save, you don’t have a very reliable closer. Daniel Palencia heads into this season as the team’s closer again. Last season, he led the team with 22 saves in 25 save ops. The team did lose Brad Keller to the Phillies, who led the team last year, with 68 appearances. They still have Caleb Thielbar, who had 67 appearances last year, with a 2.64 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. He’ll be used in late-inning high-leverage situations.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

NFL DRAFT: Iowa football star Gennings Dunker steals show at NFL Combine with viral mullet

MLB: Bob Costas makes clear statement on Shohei Ohtani’s MLB GOAT status

MMA: Jon Jones shares major news about UFC White House fight card

ENTERTAINMENT: 2026 SAG Actor Awards winners list, ‘Sinners’ & Michael B Jordan win big

SPORTS MEDIA: LSU gymnastics star Kailin Chio surpasses Olympic champ Jordan Chiles 

VIRAL: Florida Man charged for stealing trading cards with taco seasoning packets