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3 Chicago Cubs who don't deserve to be back in 2024
After a season filled with several positive takeaways, albeit ending in heartache, the Chicago Cubs have multiple questions to answer heading into the offseason once the MLB Playoffs wrap up. They will need to address their starting rotation, lineup, and bullpen. In doing so, they will need to subtract from the roster to have room to take critical steps forward if the team wishes to contend next season. With certain players underperforming, it will be relatively easy for the front office to figure out where to trim the fat. Let's look at three players who don't deserve a roster spot in 2024.
3 players who don't deserve to be back - 3. Patrick Wisdom
Towards the end of the 2023 campaign, Wisdom was limited to bench duties, with the occasional start coming only against left-handed pitching. He finished the season slashing .205/.289/.500. The slugging percentage has always been there, but the 37% K rate over the last three seasons combined was already alarming heading into 2023. Now, if the Cubs want to get serious, it's time to construct the roster with players who can succeed without only finding success if they happen to make contact while swinging for the fences. As we know, the Cubs have made a point to be fantastic defensively.
Wisdom finished with a team-worst -8 Outs Above Average and -6 Runs Prevented. In 61 appearances at third base, Wisdom recorded a well below-average .927% fielding percentage. These numbers will not help lead the Cubs back to serious contention. We wish we could say let's give him some time to figure it out, but this goes back to 2021, when he was first on the roster. Unfortunately, It's time for the front office to move on.
3 players who don't deserve to be back - 2. Drew Smyly
Drew Smyly starting the year in the starting rotation and finishing in the bullpen already signals the confidence the Cubs front office has in him. Smyly finished with a 5.00 ERA for the year, which is .67 points below the league average. Granted, the Cubs had good reason to bring Smyly back in 2023 after posting a 3.47 ERA the previous year, but this season wound up being his worst since 2019. With the Cubs looking to contend next season earnestly, they can ill afford to be wasting spots on players who can't bring their A-game to the table night in and night out.
The Cubs' bullpen was worn down to a nub at the end of 2023, even though Smyly posted an ERA of 2.52 as a reliever. That sample size was just 28.2 IP; a few bad outings out of the pen would have drastically inflated that sparkly number. I'm not sold on saying that Smyly automatically deserves a roster spot next season. He will have to prove himself still worthy in Spring Training. There are several directions the Cubs can go if he doesn't turn it around quickly.
3 players who don't deserve to be back - 1. Daniel Palencia
Last but not least, we come to the bullpen and land on Daniel Palencia. I love the heater Palencia possesses, and he has flashed late-inning reliever stuff. However, It's clear he is not quite ready, and it would bode well for him to further work on his command in Iowa next season to begin the year. In 28.1 innings, Palencia walked 14 batters. Though he was the victim of a little bad luck with a 4.00 FIP compared to a 4.45 ERA, Palencia is missing something that can take him to that next level.
In a regular scenario, you let Palencia figure it out at the major league level. However, 2024 must be a profound turning point for the Cubs regarding returning to consistent postseason contention. His 10.5 K/9 shows his potential; it just all circles back to the team needing to add as many vital pieces as possible this winter. The Cubs already have Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. Given the depth of the starting rotation, there's a strong chance guys like Javier Assad may start in the bullpen as well. Determining the rest of the bullpen will be based on something other than players who still have work. That being said, Palencia has high potential in the future, and it will be interesting to see how he can turn the corner, even if that means he will start in the minors next year.
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