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3 Cubs players that are playing themselves out of the 2024 plans
It's never too soon to start looking ahead to next season - and these Cubs need big finishes if they want to be in the mix for the 2024 Opening Day roster.
The Cubs are off to an 8-4 start in the month of August and enter Monday's off-day 3 1/2 out in the NL Central and a half-game out in the race for the third and final Wild Card spot. After the front office bought at the trade deadline, it's on the players to finish the job and punch a postseason ticket for the first time since 2020.
With about a month-and-a-half left in the regular season, it's all eyes on the North Side. It's refreshing to not spend the entire second half of the season looking ahead toward next year, but actually be invested in the on-field results at this point in the summer. That being said, it's never too early to think about 2024, especially in the sense that there are guys on this roster who might be playing for a spot on next year's team.
3 Cubs players that are playing themselves out of the 2024 plans: #3 - Nick Madrigal
Nick Madrigal probably has a role to play somewhere in the league, but I'm less and less certain it'll be with the Cubs with each passing week. Prior to Chicago trading for him in the summer of 2021, this was a guy with a reputation as an elite bat-to-ball guy. He'd hit everywhere, dating back to his college days at Oregon State.
But since joining the Cubs, he's never looked like that guy - a former top prospect who hit .300 year in and year out - and it's proven costly. Injuries have played a big role in this, to be sure, but he's been just as inconsistent as ever here in 2023 and has been a mess since coming back from the IL in late July.
Madrigal is batting just .225/.296/.275 since July 29 and he's batted below .230 in three of the first five months of the season. Looking at how the roster might take shape heading into next season, re-signing Cody Bellinger and/or Jeimer Candelario all but eliminates the opportunity for regular playing time for Madrigal - and his lack of consistency or production is doing him zero favors.
3 Cubs players that are playing themselves out of the 2024 plans: #2 - Tucker Barnhart
I get that Tucker Barnhart is a glove-first guy and is well-respected by the Cubs pitching staff. But with Miguel Amaya in the mix now and Yan Gomes controllable through 2024, I think the odds Barnhart is around next year are slim, despite his being on a two-year deal that runs through next season.
The bat hasn't been good in a couple years now, and despite ranking in the top 12% of the league in framing metrics, Barnhart isn't playing up to his roster spot right now. He's got a 50 OPS - meaning he's been just half as valuable as the league average offensive player. That's just not going to cut it.
Now, he's not going anywhere here in the home stretch with the team in the midst of a playoff hunt, but if you're not carrying three catchers in 2024 (which the Cubs shouldn't) - it's got to be Amaya and Gomes.
Barnhart's deal has a player option for 2024 he's all but guaranteed to exercise. But as we saw last month with Trey Mancini, the front office is pivoting to a winning mindset and it stands to reason Jed Hoyer wouldn't blink about eating that money if he's unable to attach him to a trade this offseason.
3 Cubs players that are playing themselves out of the 2024 plans: #1 - Drew Smyly
Early on this year, Drew Smyly looked like a revelation, almost throwing a perfect game and playing a stabilizing role in the Cubs starting rotation. That was key given Jameson Taillon's brutal start to the season.
But it's been a tale of two halves for the veteran left-hander, who recently lost his spot in the rotation after a prolonged stretch of struggles. In the second half, he has an ERA north of 8.00 - nearly double his first-half mark. Since June 14, opponents have tagged him for a 1.000 OPS. Prior to his move to the bullpen, David Ross even tried an opener ahead of Smyly, but to no avail.
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Given the young arms on the horizon, including Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski and Cade Horton, it's hard to see Smyly holding onto a job in this rotation in 2024. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Chicago trade him this winter, even if it means eating a little of the $8.5 million owed him in the final year of his deal.