Chicago Cubs Offense Could 'Crash the Party' Among MLB's Elite Teams

With their latest superstar addition, the Chicago Cubs offense may now be a Top 10 group in MLB.

Sep 21, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) celebrates his home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs pulled off one of the more exciting moves of the offseason, and they should now be considered a top 10 offense because of it.

Before the Cubs traded for Kyle Tucker, ESPN's Bradford Doolittle did a ranking of the top 10 offenses in MLB.

Chicago barely missed the list, but were named a team that could "crash the party."

Now that Tucker is in town, the party should be considered crashed.

The weak-point of the Cubs' offense was the fact that they did not have a true star player because of the uncertainty of what Cody Bellinger brought to the table.

Bellinger showed glimpses of his MVP form in 2023, which is why the team worked so quickly to bring him back.

Unfortunately, he regressed last season.

With Bellinger gone, traded to the New York Yankees, the offense has a bit more certainty to what it will look like, which should making things better for Chicago next year.

His spot in the lineup will be replaced by Tucker, who was playing at an MVP level last year.

Despite missing over half of the campaign, he posted a .289/.408/.585 slash line with 23 home runs and 49 RBI. If he played a full season at that level, that would put him around 45 home runs and 97 RBI.

He would only lose two of his home runs from last year by playing in Wrigley Field, so his game should translate well as a power-hitting lefty.

The only other major change currently expected to take place would be Matt Shaw at third base instead of Isaac Paredes, who was sent away in the Tucker trade.

Paredes is a talented hitter, but was a bad fit for the Cubs.

He struggled after being acquired at the deadline, posting a .223/.325/.307 slash line over his last 52 games.

Even if Shaw has some rookie struggles, he should be able to improve over that by the end of the season.

He posted a .284/.379/.488 slash line with 21 home runs and 31 stolen bases in the minor leagues last year.

Another underrated change will be the possible jump that Pete Crow-Armstrong could make.

Armstrong was one of the worst hitters in the league to start his career, but actually started to come into his own down the stretch.

Over the final two months of the season, the rookie posted a .284/.337/.466 slash line with seven home runs and seven stolen bases. Keeping that pace or anywhere around it would be a massive win since he is already elite in the field.

For a group that already wasn't awful, they could vault into the conversation as one of the league's best.