Cubs: 3 glaring roster holes keeping Chicago from World Series contention
By Tim Boyle
2. The Cubs starting lineup isn’t proven enough to win them a championship
The Cubs starting lineup is similar to their starting rotation. There is a lot of talent and potential there. Longtime holdovers Willson Contreras and Ian Happ are hitting well while newcomer Seiya Suzuki looks to be worth every penny.
The rest of the lineup has added some good at-bats into the mix. Their 21-0 beat down of the Pittsburgh Pirates certainly helped fatten up the stat sheet. Long term, it’s hard to picture this Cubs squad being one of the most formidable offenses in the game of baseball.
No major bats other than Suzuki were brought in over the winter. Thoughts that they would add one of the top free-agent shortstops were hardly rumors and more speculation on the part of fans eager for a change or just a reunion with Javier Baez.
Compared to some of the recent Cubs starting lineups, the best they can offer in 2022 is incredibly weak. They aren’t going to beat teams by three touchdowns often this year. Some of those early numbers the position players have put up are entirely too inflated to believe in.
The Cubs would have served themselves much better by bringing in at least one more major offensive upgrade. Instead, they’ll need to hope some of the younger guys continue to play at a high level and make up for the franchise’s lack of premium spending.