Ninth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ veteran left fielder,
Pittsburgh-area native and former Cincinnati Bearcat Ian Edward Happ is a figure of some controversy among Cubs fans, who decry his numbers while praising his numerical consistency. Happ has amassed a tidy 22.4 bWAR (20.6 fWAR) in a nine-year career in which he has averaged 20 HR and 62 RBI in real numbers, as two of his campaigns were partial or truncated.
He’s been an MLB regular since 2021, also logging considerable time in 2017-18. He has long stretches of hitless inadequacy, which are maddening, but he is always on base. Happ hasn’t yet turned in a 100-walk season but he’s capable of it.
Which is just the thing. 24 long balls in his rookie season increased expectations he hasn’t yet delivered on, and people don’t trust the agencies that keep fitting his right hand for a Gold Glove.
He can bat 1, 3, 5, or 6 in a Counsell lineup, and has, though 1 and 3 are his most common places in the batting order. As a switch-hitter with a good eye, he’s a valuable leadoff man in today’s lineups, where sheer base-stealing speed isn’t as valuable in that spot. Happ is reasonably fast but isn’t good at the stolen-base game.
Ian Happ is in his walk year and will be needing a new deal. Plenty of fans would let him roll on to another squad. I’m not one of them, but it might depend on the length of the contract, as Happ is 31 and his skills are likely to diminish some.
The Cubs don’t have a likely replacement, though, and that complicates matters. Matt Shaw? Maybe. Prove it to me. Kevin Alcantara? Same. Dylan Carlson? I want some of what you’re smoking.
Extend Happ for three years? Do it now. Ethan Conrad and Kane Kepley aren’t ready yet, if they’re going to be. That isn’t guaranteed. And Seiya Suzuki is in his walk year, too. There’s not a lot of youth in the 2027 Free Agent list, and the guys that are good are likely to be locked in during the season, or traded.
In 2026, Happ is going to turn in a 20+ HR, 75 RBI, 90-walk season, hit around .240 and be nominated for a Gold Glove. That’s okay by me. The future is hard to see.