As the Chicago Cubs evaluate how to improve the offense in the coming months, part of that equation is determining how much Wrigley Field impacted their offensive production as one of the most suppressive run-scoring environments in baseball this year.
But there is a flip side: Those dynamics also gave Cubs pitchers a boost. Their pitching staff’s 3.08 ERA at home was the second-best in the majors, with the next closest team nearly a half-point higher, while tying for the second-lowest home run-to-fly ball ratio. Knowing there could be some regression for their pitchers at home next season, the Cubs will look to improve the rotation through free agency or trades.
The Cubs are not expected to be involved in the top tier of the starting pitcher market, though. Bolstering the pitching staff extends behind overhauling a bullpen, and the organization has a good foundation with left-handers Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga and right-hander Jameson Taillon.
“I do feel like our offense was hurt by Wrigley last year, there’s no question and obviously our pitching staff was helped,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday at the MLB general managers meetings. “Certainly you can’t just look at the Wrigley factor on only one side, it affects everybody. … I was really impressed by what our pitching staff did. We had a lot more injuries than expected — our starting pitching hung in really well.”
Having right-hander Ben Brown and left-hander Jordan Wicks fully healthy for the start of next season will help, too. Brown, who didn’t pitch after June 8 following a diagnosis of a benign area of concern in his neck, will undergo a scan in mid-November to see if everything is clear. The Cubs hope he won’t have any restrictions this offseason but it won’t be known until they get the results of the scan.
Wicks, limited to 11 games (10 starts) because of three injuries in 2024, is expected to have a normal offseason after ending the year on the injured list because of a rib stress reaction.
Top prospect Cade Horton is a wild card for the Cubs next season. A moderate subscapularis strain in his right shoulder kept Horton sidelined for the final four months of the season. He will be checked out in mid-November and if he gets the all clear will start his throwing progression. Ideally, Horton becomes pitching depth at Triple-A Iowa and can help the Cubs at some point in 2025, but it’s too soon to count on that given the time he missed.
“Just watch the postseason, the number of arms you need to get through the entire marathon now, we felt we were in really good shape coming into last year,” Hoyer said. “We had as much pitching depth as we’ve had and even with that, a lot of guys went down and we were scrambling. Like everyone here, we’re looking for as many good quality arms as possible and hopefully we can keep as many healthy as possible.”
Beyond infusing the big-league roster with more talent, smaller details matter for an organization trying to improve on its 83-win season and return to the playoffs. The addition of third-base coach Quintin Berry, hired from the Brewers and formerly part of manager Craig Counsell’s coaching staff in Milwaukee, is expected to play an important role in the Cubs’ run game.
The Cubs’ 59 outs on the bases ranked second-most in the majors. Their sloppiness in that area — often careless mistakes, whether by the trail runner or not good enough secondary leads — was too much part of the Cubs’ DNA in 2024 and must be cleaned up next season. How much that stems from lack of in-game focus versus pregame preparation is difficult to discern, but Hoyer is confident Berry will get the group on track.
“He’s going to be very focused on that, both ways,” Hoyer said. “I’ve always thought it was a mentality. When you take that detail really seriously as a team it can really pay huge dividends. That was a real weakness.”
