4 formidable foes who could put Cubs’ playoff dreams on ice in September

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers still have five more head-to-head matchups over the next week, which seems likely to determine who will call themselves NL Central champions at season's end.

All signs point to that being the Brewers, but both teams seem ticketed for the playoffs. That's not to say things can't change - and few teams know that better than the Cubs, who have seen their once-sizable lead in the NL wild card race dwindle away in recent weeks, unexpectedly raising the stakes in September.

The month is full of challenges, but here are 4 rivals who could play spoiler in Chicago's hopes of punching a second consecutive postseason ticket.

4 potential spoilers in Cubs' bid to return to the playoffs

Milwaukee Brewers

Let's just get the obvious one out of the way. If the Brewers handle business against the Cubs over the next week, it would take nothing shy of a miracle for Chicago to catch their hated rival in the standings.

The NL Central has run through Milwaukee for years now and that has remained the case in 2026. The Cubs have to hope a high-powered offense, led of late by MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong and resurgent third baseman Alex Bregman, is up for the challenge of overcoming Jacob Misiorowski and an impressive Brewers' pitching staff.

Even if they fall short in their quest of catching the reigning division champs, we could be in store for another October head-to-head. We can only hope this version of that story, should it come to pass, has a different ending than the one we bore witness to last fall.

Sal Stewart

The Cubs' recent series losses to the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds really stung. They fell into a pair of trap series and wasted valuable opportunities to make up some ground on Milwaukee.

NL Rookie of the Year favorite Sal Stewart and the Reds welcome the Cubs to Great American Ballpark mid-month, with a chance of playing spoiler to their longtime Senior Circuit rival. The Cincinnati infielder is enjoying a monster rookie campaign, already having passed the 30-homer and 100-RBI thresholds.

If he can help the Reds pull off an improbable September sweep of the Cubs, his quickly-expanding lore in the Queen City will only grow.

Atlanta Braves

I'd love nothing more than for PCA to notch his 40/40 season when the Braves are at Wrigley Field. And just to pay Atlanta back for when it stopped the game when Ronald Acuna Jr. hit 40/70 a few years ago, I want a standing ovation and a pause in action.

Thank you very much.

But in all seriousness, the Braves are locked in a dogfight for NL East supremacy, with a Phillies team that's surged since firing Rob Thompson and tapping Don Mattingly to replace him. That race could come down to the wire, meaning neither Atlanta nor Chicago can afford to take any days off - giving both teams everything to lose in their late September matchup that closes out the regular season schedule at Wrigley Field.

Willson Contreras

Let me paint a nightmare scenario for you. It's the final weekend of the MLB regular season and the Cubs are desperately trying to hold onto a playoff spot. They're in Boston and who's freshly returned from the IL, waiting to send his former team to an early grave? Willson Contreras.

Given the passion and energy Contreras plays with, you can bet he'd love nothing more than to lock down a playoff berth in Boston (especially considering how the season started) and knock his former club out of the picture.

Contreras is having a monster year in Boston (career-high 4.3 bWAR) and the team is planning on getting him back from the injured list before the end of the regular season. Could he make his return just in time to hold the Cubs' feet to the fire? It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow