Why Chicago Cubs are big winners in MLB’s 16-team playoff

The Chicago Cubs have to be thankful for the expanded playoffs.

After the news of the MLB postseason being expanded from 10 teams to 16 was made official, many assumed that the teams most overjoyed with the fact that the postseason has been made more accessible are teams who were projected to finish in last place, as they now have a shot at the postseason. While there is a kernel of truth in that, no team has to be more ecstatic at the expansion than the Chicago Cubs.

After crashing and burning last season, which turned out to be Joe Maddon’s last in Chicago, the Cubs now appear to be almost a lock for the playoffs, as finishing either first or second in the NL Central would guarantee a playoff spot.

The Chicago Cubs are stuck in a very tough division.

The NL Central, almost overnight, has morphed into one of the most competitive divisions in the sport. The St. Louis Cardinals, led by Paul Goldschmidt at the dish and Jack Flaherty on the mound, are notoriously difficult when the calendar flips to October. The Cincinnati Reds splurged in the offseason, and their lineup looks like one of the deepest in baseball.

If the Milwaukee Brewers ever sort out their starting rotation, a team led by Christian Yelich and Josh Hader that was a few outs away from knocking the eventual champion Washington Nationals out of the playoffs in 2019 might be able to make some noise in October. Even the cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates have enough players to give the Cubs some real trouble over the course of the 2020 season. Over 162 games with five playoff spots available to them, the Cubs faced long odds of making it to October in 2020.

The Cubs might have enough star power for one last push to the playoffs.

The Cubs should expect to play October baseball in 2020, as the star power provided by sluggers Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo should be enough to get them into the postseason. How high they are seeded and how far they go will be determined by their pitching staff, as some disappointing stats on the bump last year contributed to the Cubs’ precipitous decline.

What doomed Chicago last year was the fact that the starting rotation, which featured studs like Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish, and Jose Quintana, underperformed a tad in conjunction with a bullpen that would blow leads every other game.

If Hendricks and Darvish emerge as legit ace pitchers that can shoulder the burden of carrying an entire staff, and if Craig Kimbrel leads a bullpen resurgence that finally helps the Cubs feel safe and secure near the end of tense games, Chicago might be able to eradicate the poor taste that 2019 left in their mouths.

With David Ross, a well-respect holdover from the 2016 title team, replacing Maddon as the manager, the Cubs will have to overcome a lot of the issues that rookie managers present, but they have enough talent on this roster to do so and secure one of the eight NL playoff spots. Once they start playing October baseball, that star power should help them win at least one series, with the potential to win several.

The bottom might have fallen out on the North Side in a 162-game season, as the regime change, lack of depth, and deep division might have been too much to overcome. However, in a shortened season with an expanded playoff, the Cubs have enough ingredients to make a run, as a few power surges from Bryant and Baez as well as few timely shutouts might be enough to propel them to the division crown.