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Cubs: 3 players whose futures with team are doomed after shortened season

By Jake Misener |
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
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Cubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood has likely thrown his last pitch for the team. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
Cubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood has likely thrown his last pitch for the team. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Injuries, payroll concerns and poor performance will cost these three Cubs.

Despite carrying the second-best record in the National League into Wednesday night’s matchup with the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago Cubs have a great deal of uncertainty around them.

The pitching staff feels like trying to plug holes in a sinking ship using your fingers, guys you counted on to carry the offense haven’t showed up and beyond 2020, the financials for the organization will be a huge focus for ownership.

Underperforming stars like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez aren’t going anywhere. Why? Because Theo Epstein isn’t about to sell low on any of them. It seems far more likely the club hopes for a return to form with eyes cast toward some potential trade deadline deals in 2021.

Chicago is hoping to pull off one more deep postseason run before the group that gained baseball immortality in 2016 begins to go its separate ways. Next year’s Cubs could look vastly different – and for a variety of reasons, these three guys seem highly unlikely to be a part of the 2021 club.

Tyler Chatwood was wildly inconsistent as a member of the Cubs. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Tyler Chatwood was wildly inconsistent as a member of the Cubs. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Cubs came out on the wrong end of the Tyler Chatwood deal

The Chicago brass felt they had a diamond in the rough when they inked Tyler Chatwood to a three-year, $39 million deal prior to the 2018 season. Well, he turned out to be a a whole lot more ‘rough’ than ‘diamond,’ to say the least.

In his Cubs career, Chatwood has made 67 appearances, including 30 starts. He’s worked to a less-than-ideal 4.70 ERA and 4.88 FIP during that span to go along with a 1.608 WHIP – which is wildly inflated by his league-leading 95 walks back in 2018.

He showed signs of bouncing back early this year, looking outstanding in his first couple starts. But then things started going sideways and he soon after hit the shelf with an elbow injury. His recovery isn’t going well and, by all indications, it’s far from a sure thing he’ll throw another pitch this season.

In the short-term, it further destabilizes an already-questionable starting rotation. But given his struggles when healthy and his elbow woes, Chatwood is not a viable answer looking at the team’s pitching needs moving forward.

Albert Almora scuffled this year and the Cubs optioned him to South Bend. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Albert Almora scuffled this year and the Cubs optioned him to South Bend. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

Cubs have an answer in center, leaving Albert Almora as the odd man out

How many times have we convinced ourselves that Albert Almora was about to turn the corner and live up to the hype that surrounded him as a former first-round pick? Too many.

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For some time now, Almora has ranked among the worst offensive players in all of Major League Baseball. With his glove work trending, overall, in the wrong direction as well – it’s hard to justify keeping him on the big league roster any longer.

Prior to his being optioned to South Bend, he carried a measly .167/.265/.200 line in 34 plate appearances. Small sample size? Perhaps. But going back to the start of 2019 (397 plate appearances), he owns a 64 OPS+ with a .270 OBP. This isn’t a new problem, to say the least.

I know there are those who say that he’s worth a roster spot as a late-inning replacement. That’s the role he was relegated to for much of this season in the wake of Ian Happ‘s breakout – but I think it’s best for all involved to let him try to turn the page with a fresh start elsewhere.

Looking ahead to 2021, the outfield picture seems more clear than it has in sometime. Happ will handle duties in center, Heyward in right (along with a platoon partner) and Schwarber in left. There will be some reps for Bryant, as well – but those are your three as things stand.

Cubs lefty Jon Lester has showed his age in 2020. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Cubs lefty Jon Lester has showed his age in 2020. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Cubs will undoubtedly refuse to pick up Jon Lester’s 2021 option

When it’s all said and done, Jon Lester will go down as arguably the biggest free agent signing in Chicago Cubs history. After all, he came to town and, immediately, the team went from rebuilding to contender – en route to three NLCS, a World Series title and two division crowns.

Lester has won more than 18 games twice with Chicago, earned a pair of All-Star selections, finished runner-up in 2016 NL Cy Young voting and for the last half-decade been a constant in the rotation. But the guy he is today isn’t the one who formed part of the Cubs’ three-headed monster five years ago.

This year, the veteran lefty has battled through some very real struggles, even admitting that he’d lost confidence on the mound at one point. In typical ‘Big Jon’ fashion, he bounced back with a gem in his very next start, but you can no longer expect a quality outing every five days as you might’ve in the not-so-distant past.

Next. ESPN's Karl Ravech thinks the Cubs have what it takes. dark

With a $25 million vesting option for 2021, it’s a foregone conclusion the two are set to part ways barring a new deal. Given his age and declining stuff, the sad truth is this: it’s time for the Cubs and their beloved left-hander to go their separate ways.

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