Ranking the 5 most important Cubs entering the 2022 season

As things currently stand, the Chicago Cubs are currently projected to win just 79.5 games – just below the .500 mark. Obviously, that will not be good enough to get them into the postseason. Even with an expanded field likely coming this year, the Cubs simply will not make the cut unless they get key contributions from the players already on their roster and not just depend on free agent signings to pave the road to success.

Last year, the Cubs’ underwhelming record of 71-91 was mostly triggered by a blow-up of the team at the trade deadline, while the starting rotation struggled all year with a bottom-5 4.87 team ERA. Should the postseason format had expanded to include up to 14 teams last year, the Cubs still would have been eight games out of a wild card spot while teams like Cincinnati, Philadelphia and San Diego would have catapulted themselves into the playoffs.

Looking at the stats and metrics of those that departed the team at the trade deadline last year, it’s interesting to note that certain players actually surpassed what members of the core did in a Cubs uniform before being traded. Still, two of the top five leaders in WAR for the team were Kris Bryant (2.5) and Craig Kimbrel (2.2). Of course, a lot of these players did not play a whole season in a Cubs uniform and therefore the best way to compare them is by analyzing what each did based on their total number of games played.

In this list, I am going to focus on both pitchers and position players and their production, as a whole. With a starting rotation that was patched up prior to the lockout, it isn’t hard to see a scenario where the starting rotation is at least better than last year. Let’s glance ahead at the 5 most important players currently on the Cubs roster heading into 2022.