Cubs get an unwelcome wakeup call from ESPN's way-too-early MLB power rankings

The Chicago Cubs didn't even sniff the Milwaukee Brewers in 2026. Milwaukee finished the regular season with a 14-game advantage over the Cubs, and throughout the playoffs, it was clear the Brewers were the best team in baseball. Short of nothing else, it was going to be a daunting task for the Cubs to close the gap this offseason. The reality is that it may even be much more than that.

ESPN recently ran a way-too-early power ranking for the 2027 season, and you would need to scroll to the bottom half of the list to land on the Cubs. The Cubs were at No. 17, and once you remove the bias that comes with seeing Chicago that low, the reasoning makes sense.

First and foremost, the biggest reason why the Cubs are where they are on this list is because it factors in the players under contract for the 2027 season. Every member of the Cubs' starting rotation at the end of the season is a free agent, and the Cubs are also facing a future without Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki in the outfielder, or Carson Kelly as the team's starting catcher.

ESPN's way too early rankings send Cubs an uncomfortable offseason message

Right now, the Cubs are far from a playoff team. This meant as nothing more than a visual, but FanGraphs' RosterResource currently has Matt Shaw and BJ Murray Jr. as the team's starting outfielders, and Pedro Ramirez as the full-time DH. As for the bench, it's compiled of Owen Ayers, Gabriel Arias, Kevin Alcantara, and Justin Dean.

The project rotation is equally as bleak, considering it centers around Justin Steele, Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Javier Assad, and Braxton Garrett.

Similar to ESPN's power rankings, FanGraps is trying to make the most fo the players the Cubs have under control for the 2027 season. The expectation is that the starting lineup, bench, and rotation should, and will, look different as soon as a few weeks from now.

If nothing else, these projections need to be a wakeup call for the front office. The Brewers have routinely lapped the Cubs for much of the past decade, and there is real work needed if Jed Hoyer and Co. are going to break that trend. It's very much a decisive offseason, considering all that's needed, and if they don't succeed, 2027 could be the final year of his current iteration of leadership in the organization.

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