2 Cubs players under contract for 2026 that fans are ready to move on from

Every year, there are guys who surprise us - both for the better and the worse. In 2025, there were far more of the former than the latter, headlined by monster years from names like Michael Busch, Matthew Boyd, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cade Horton, among others.

But not all guys boosted their stock. These two players, in particular, aren't getting a ton of folks excited and could face short leashes next season if they struggle at the big-league level.

2 Cubs pitchers who need to show up in a big way next season

Ben Brown

Ben Brown was largely a disaster last season. He finished the year with a 5.92 ERA, -1.6 bWAR and 1.439 WHIP in 106 1/3 innings of work. There were flashes of brilliance, sure (he had a pair of starts in late May/early June where he punched out 16 over 13 innings, allowing only two earned runs), but it was far more bad than good.

A two-pitch pitcher, Brown seems better suited for a bullpen role than a rotation spot long-term, so that'll be something to keep an eye on next spring, but we know teams prefer to keep guys stretched out for starting depth. He's got a minor-league option remaining, so maybe Chicago keeps him stashed at Iowa, but it's clear he's got to be more consistent at the big-league level if he wants to be a part of this team's long-term plans.

Jordan Wicks

When he was drafted out of Kansas State in 2021, Jordan Wicks was supposed to make the climb through the Cubs' farm system rather quickly. No one expected him to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, but he came with a lot of polish and high pitching IQ that led Chicago to believe he could make an impact sooner rather than later.

Nearly five years later, that's not been the case. Wicks has a career 5.21 ERA/4.79 FIP in 95 MLB innings and very few of the numbers suggest a more positive way to spin his performance. The southpaw, meanwhile, has been much better at Triple-A, with a 3.96 ERA in 125 frames.

All told, he's still got fewer than 400 professional innings under his belt, but it's safe to say very few Cubs fans view him as a piece of the puzzle at this point, even after turning his his best season to-date last year at Iowa. He's got to stay healthy and prove he can be effective against big-league hitters or he risks becoming irrelevant sooner than anyone once thought possible.