Chicago Cubs 2024 Performance Reflected in Underwhelming Regular Season Grade

An MLB writer did not give the Chicago Cubs a great grade for their performance in the 2024 season.

Sep 22, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Ethan Roberts (39) and manager Craig Counsell (30) argue a call against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-Imagn Images

There was a lot of hope and optimism surrounding the Chicago Cubs coming into the 2024 season.

After winning 83 games last year, the front office was able to bring back Cody Bellinger and added Shota Imanaga in free agency to boost the starting rotation. This is a team full of solid, talented young players.

However, to push to that next tier, they need some star power. That is one of the biggest takeaways for Bradford Doolittle of ESPN in his write-up for the team’s 2024 regular season grade.

Set to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season, he gave the Cubs a C- grade.

“Quick question: Who's the best player on the Cubs? Cody Bellinger? Shota Imanaga? Dansby Swanson? Justin Steele? Seiya Suzuki? By WAR for the 2024 season, it's Ian Happ. The Cubs have a group of good, solid players. What they need is a star. Or two. With Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong, they have three superior defenders up the middle -- and while that's a good thing to have, none of the three are middle-of-the-order hitters. What they need is a big bat. Will they throw a big bundle of cash at Juan Soto to lure him to Wrigley?” Doolittle wrote.

That is a strong core to have as the foundation of a team. But, as the ESPN senior writer noted, a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat would transform this lineup and take them to another level.

A few players hitting free agency this winter, such as Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander, would certainly qualify to fill the void in addition to Soto.

Alas, the lack of power wasn’t the only thing holding this team back. As Doolittle noted, the managerial change didn’t provide the expected spark and the bullpen was shaky throughout the campaign.

“For the second straight season, the Cubs also underperformed their Pythagorean record: seven wins last season, about six wins this season. Switching from David Ross to Craig Counsell at manager didn't improve the performance in that regard. It could be nothing other than a two-year statistical fluke, a "that's baseball" kind of thing, but the front office will certainly need to figure out why it happened again. Was the bullpen to blame? At least Porter Hodge, with what has been one of the most unhittable sweepers in the game, looks like the closer of the future,” wrote Doolittle.

It will be interesting to see what the front office does to fix these woes. The team isn’t far off from contending for a playoff spot. Shoring up the bullpen behind what looks to be a strong starting rotation would raise the floor of the team.