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Chicago Cubs: The pieces are in place – time to put it all together
We’re looking at an offense that, top-to-bottom, has the potential to rank among the best in baseball. Despite last season’s offensive implosion in the second half, Chicago ranked fourth in the NL in runs scored (761), second in on-base percentage (.333) and first in batting average (.258).
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Baez put up the best numbers of his career. Anthony Rizzo rebounded to eclipse 100 RBI for the fourth consecutive campaign – a first for a Cubs left-handed hitter. And that’s not to mention the fact that guys like Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Willson Contreras all struggled in a big way down the stretch.
What I’m saying is this – the pieces are there.
Chicago heads into 2019 with a loaded rotation. Granted, two of the guys are north of 35 years old and the X-factor, Yu Darvish, made just eight starts last year – but there’s no disputing the talent in this group. Lester is the grizzled veteran of the staff, joined by fellow southpaw Cole Hamels, who came back via a $20 million team option this offseason. Add Darvish, the perennially-underrated Kyle Hendricks and southpaw Jose Quintana and you have a more than capable big league rotation.
Really, the only question is the Chicago bullpen – and, given their financial limitations, Epstein and Hoyer did everything in their power to shore up that group with a bevy of veteran additions, most notably Brad Brach, Tony Barnette and Xavier Cedeno. That’s not to mention Junichi Tazawa, George Kontos, Colin Rea, and the rest of the guys the Cubs added this winter.
I’m not saying the Chicago Cubs are going to go out and win 100 games. They very well could – but here’s what matters. This isn’t a .500 team. It’s a club constructed to win – a lot – and make a deep postseason push. So take a deep breath, put the offseason behind you and get ready for another exciting season from the North Siders.