3 reasons the Chicago Cubs will win the 2024 World Series and 2 reasons they won't

The Chicago Cubs will win the 2024 World Series because their defense is exceptional… again

Last season the Cubs entered the year with Gold Glove winners all over the diamond and Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner all won the award at their respective positions in 2023. 

Regardless of how the remainder of this offseason plays out the Cubs will have excellent defense from those three Gold Glove winners as well as in center field, where Pete Crow-Armstrong is widely considered a plus-plus runner and defender and from catcher where both Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya are above average.

However, if the Cubs were able or (more appropriately) willing to spend some money and sign Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman then the defense would exceed the exceptional status and go on to historic.

That lineup would feature legitimate playmakers at first base with Bellinger, second base with Hoerner, shortstop with Swanson, third base with Chapman, catcher with either Amaya or Gomes, and an outfield that could cover some of Seiya Suzuki’s shortcomings through the exceptional play of Happ and Crow-Armstrong.

If the Cubs struggle this season it will be due to the pitching simply not being good enough, but one way to overshadow the flaws of a pitching staff is to back them up with stellar defense. 

There would be plenty to like about the batting power of the lineup listed above, but it’s hard not to look at all that gold on the diamond and wonder if the defense would have the potential to be the best defensive lineup constructed in the last thirty years.