6 Cubs who failed to live up to expectations in 2024

Hitting the preseason projections on the nose, the Chicago Cubs went 83-79 for the second consecutive season which was good for a distant second-place finish in the NL Central and yet another October watching from home.

Poor offensive conditions at Wrigley Field, some misses on key free agent signings and injuries all contributed to the team's downfall - but a two-plus month offensive cold spell doomed them regardless. If this team is going to change the narrative in 2025, they will, as Jed Hoyer made very clear, have to outperform expectations.

Unfortunately, these 6 players failed to do just that this year - and it proved costly.

1: Dansby Swanson got better as the year went on, but Cubs need more

Dansby Swanson followed up a 4.9 fWAR in his first year on the North Side with a 4.3 fWAR effort in 2024, which, at first glance, might leave you wondering why he's on this list.

The problem with Swanson this year came at the plate. Fangraphs' Offense (Off) metric had him at 6.9 in 2023 and just 3.4 this season. As the team's highest-paid player (and the recipient of the second-largest contract in Cubs history), the expectation is that Swanson could be the team's stopper. By that, I mean he could be the veteran presence who helps pull the offense out of cold spells.

That wasn't the case this season.

As Chicago's offense evaporated in May and June, Swanson batted just .205/.286/.364 and was just as big a part of the problem as anyone on the roster. Sure, he turned it on in the second half and looked much better down the stretch, but the Cubs needed more from him when the bats were in a tailspin during the first half and he didn't deliver.