Chicago Cubs 2025 MLB Season Preview
Our baseball guru Matt Musico discusses what we might see from Wrigleyville's finest in the pivotal '25 campaign.
HEADING INTO THE 2024 Major League Baseball season, there was a buzz surrounding the Chicago Cubs.
Not a loud buzz, mind you. Just some chill buzzes that said, “Craig Counsell is our manager, and he’s taking us to the Promised Land.”
Yeah, not so much.
The Cubs wrapped up 2024 with a record of 83-79, good for a second place tie in the NL Central. Not a stellar result, but to Chicago’s credit, they had a solid off-season, trimming some fat and adding some oomph, setting them up for what should be an improved 2025.
Matt Musico of MLB Daily Dingers took a look at the ‘25 North Siders’ goods and bads:
TEAM STRENGTHS
Their pitching staff. I already liked their rotation in 2024 and think the addition of Matthew Boyd will help with the depth. The same goes for Chicago’s bullpen after acquiring Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, and Eli Morgan.
We see every year that teams can never have too much pitching, and the Cubs did a nice job to supplement on area of the roster that was already pretty good.
TEAM WEAKNESSES
The top half of the lineup looks nice, but the bottom half has a fair share of question marks. You have Matt Shaw, who is unproven at the big-league level (more on him in a minute), Pete Crow-Armstrong (more on him in a little, too), Jon Berti and the catcher position.
At least one or two of those guys will need to step up and keep the momentum rolling back to the top of the lineup.
BATTER TO WATCH
The Cubs have been waiting to unleash Matt Shaw since drafting him in 2023. They were comfortable trading away Isaac Paredes because they feel like he’s ready for The Show. We’ll see what the adjustment is like for him at the next level.
STARTER TO WATCH
Justin Steele. This is his final pre-arb year with the Cubs, which means he can start making a lot more money starting next season.
A 30-start year similar to what he accomplished in 2023 would go a long way for him to possibly forcing the Cubs to buy out his arbitration years with some kind of multi-year contract extension.
RELIEVER TO WATCH
Ryan Pressly. This is a two-time All-Star who closed games for the 2022 World Champion Astros. He was doing a great job, but Houston still brought in Josh Hader to take his place, which ultimately hurt his relationship with the club.
Now that he’s back in a role he wants, it’ll be interesting to see how much of a lift he’s able to give the Cubs.
BREAKOUT POSITION PLAYER
I look forward to seeing how Pete Crow-Armstrong does this year. Unlike 2024, he has a clear runway to contributing at the big-league level every day.
After getting parts of two seasons under his belt, he could finally put together a big year, especially after what he did during spring training.
BREAKOUT PITCHER
While he was just put on the Injured List, I liked what I saw from Javier Assad in his first full year as a primary starter for the Cubs in 2024. I think he has a chance to take a step forward in his development this year.
BOLD PREDICTION
The Cubs overtake the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central title and get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
FINAL RECORD
87-75
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