Chicago Cubs: What constitutes a successful season in 2018?

Chicago Cubs: Injuries, issues and everything else

None of the three aforementioned high-priced free agents the Cubs signed this past offseason have thrown a meaningful pitch in over a month. Tyler Chatwood is the only one who has even thrown a pitch in a game this month. And it wasn’t meaningful.

Addison Russell has been either mediocre, hurt, or on administrative leave all season. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have both spent time on the DL this season, and KB has only appeared in 98 games this season.

Pedro Strop (our de facto closer with Morrow injured), also went down when told to bat during a game in which he probably should have been lifted for a pinch hitter. Willson Contreras hasn’t been anywhere near the guy we saw in the second half last season.

I could really go on and on, but we all get it. Injuries and other less desirable things happen over the course of a 162-game baseball season. It’s baseball. Even the best teams on paper and throughout the regular season suffer slumps, lose players to injuries, and ultimately fail. So, what does this mean for how we define success for the Cubs in 2018?