The Chicago Cubs did a lot to build their roster this season in an attempt to win the National League Central and eventually compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres at the top of the NL. The moves that Chicago made were headlined by the addition of superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker has been a huge addition for the Cubs, leading their offense at the top of the lineup.
This season, the Cubs sit at 22-17, good for first in the NL Central. While they're at the top, it's not a difficult task given the state of the division. All the teams below the Cubs are seemingly afterthoughts as postseason contenders.
With Chicago off to such a hot start, members of the media have begun overreacting about their season, their future, and what's next for the Cubs.
What are some of the worst overreactions revolving around the Cubs this season?
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The Cubs need to overhaul their bullpen
The first overreaction is quite a recent one. The Cubs' bullpen has struggled as of late and some believe it needs a complete overhaul. There are members of the media calling for the Cubs to replace Ryan Pressly at closer. Some have suggested the Cubs need to swing multiple trades in order to upgrade their bullpen or else they'll never go far in the postseason.
While the Cubs could obviously look to upgrade their bullpen, the same can be said for every contending team, even the Dodgers. Every contending team should look to add high leverage relievers because the bullpen is one of the more important pieces of a team in October.
But the Cubs don't need to overhaul it. Pressly is going to be perfectly fine, though the Cubs could add another high leverage reliever alongside him to take some stress off his shoulders. Pressly has struggled, but the solution isn't to take him from his role and overhaul the entire unit.
Instead, the Cubs could look to add one or two stars in the trade market. A guy like Kyle Finnegan could be a fit to boost the backend of games in Chicago, but it's way too early to throw the idea of overhauling the entire unit out there.
Kyle Tucker is as good as gone
Once the Cubs finalized the trade with the Houston Astros to acquire Tucker, the rumors began to spread that Chicago would have no chance of re-signing him once his contract ends at the end of the season. Then, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. inked a $500 million extension, likely driving Tucker's price tag up into the $300 millions or higher.
Given the fact the Cubs have never given a free agency contract worth more than $200 million, many anticipate Tucker is leaving the team after this season, but that feels like a drastic overreaction.
Should the Cubs be looked at as the favorites to sign him after this season? No, they shouldn't. Teams like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers have much bigger markets and higher payrolls than the Cubs. But that doesn't mean Chicago is out of the race. In fact, they're likely going to be a very serious contender when it comes to the Tucker sweepstakes.
I fully expect Chicago to be more than willing to offer the largest contract in franchise history to Tucker this coming offseason. That doesn't mean they'll retain him, but it's a bit of an overreaction to act like he's gone already.
The Cubs pitching rotation will be fine
One of the strengths of the Cubs last season was the starting rotation, but it's hard to call that a strength this year. Coming into the season, they needed to add depth in the rotation, even after bringing in Matthew Boyd, but they didn't do enough.
Since they have a few solid starters, many are convinced their rotation will be perfectly fine this season, but that's unlikely to be the case. Justin Steele is out for the season and Shota Imanaga recently landed on the injured list with a strained hamstring. Imanaga's injury doesn't seem like much, but there's a chance it sidelines him a lot longer than many expect.
Imanaga's FIP is also nearly 2.00 higher than his ERA. A difference this drastic indicates he could see some regression throughout the year. The same can be said for Boyd, who's FIP is about a full run higher than his ERA.
The Cubs need to add starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline. Their rotation is okay, but it's not great. If they don't add to it, there's hardly a chance they'll have the depth in October.