The Chicago Cubs came back from a 2-0 deficit to even their best-of-five series against the Milwaukee Brewers, needing just one road win to advance to the NLCS. Their pitching came through, holding the Brewers to just three runs in a full-fledged bullpen game, but their offense, the unit that carried them to October to begin with, no-showed.
The Cubs managed one run on four hits in nine innings against the Brewers and struck out eight times. Yes, the 97-win Brewers are a really good team, and they can really pitch, but one run on four hits in a lineup with this much talent in a winner-take-all game is nothing short of pathetic.
The Cubs squandered the few opportunities they had, and their only run came on a solo shot from Seiya Suzuki. Getting back to the postseason for the first time in a full 162-game season since 2018 was encouraging, but Cubs fans expected more than just a Wild Card Series win after trading for Kyle Tucker in the offseason.
There's no way to describe this season other than to say it was a disappointment. These four Cubs players won't be back as they hope to go on a deeper run in 2026.
4) Willi Castro, utility man
Matt Shaw's season-long struggles forced the Cubs to get some kind of insurance at third base. The Cubs didn't want to take his playing time away completely by acquiring Eugenio Suarez, but they did want to have someone there to fill in just in case it was needed. Given that, they acquired Willi Castro, a player who can play all over the diamond, and they did so at a reasonable cost.
Castro wasn't needed at third base over Shaw, who had a nice finish to his season, but he also gave the Cubs no reason to play him. Castro slashed .170/.245/.240 with one home run and six RBI in 35 games for Chicago down the stretch, and he didn't step up to the plate a single time in October. The only two appearances he made were as a defensive replacement in games Shaw was pinch-hit in.
The Cubs need to make sure they enter next season with a better bench than the one they began this season with, but Castro shouldn't be a part of that. He's a good player, but for whatever reason, it just didn't work in Chicago.
3) Justin Turner, first baseman
Justin Turner was brought to Chicago on a cheap one-year deal to platoon with Michael Busch. He wasn't awful in his role, posting a .759 OPS against lefties in the regular season and going 1-for-2 in the postseason, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, Turner is completely useless against right-handed pitching, as he hit .141 with a .387 OPS against righties in the regular season. It's one thing for a player to struggle, and it's another for a player to be non-competitive - that's what Turner was against righties. Second, he turns 41 years old in November.
Turner is a great leader, can still hit lefties decently, and wouldn't cost much to re-sign, but I also think, considering his age and inability to do anything against righties, the Cubs would be better off either giving Busch a shot to play every day, even against lefties at first base, or signing someone else to play that platoon role.
2) Michael Soroka, relief pitcher
For reasons only Jed Hoyer can explain, the Cubs refused to make a single trade deadline blockbuster despite making the Tucker trade. Even with their clear need for a frontline starter, the only starting pitcher the Cubs got was Michael Soroka, who left his first (and only) start of the season with Chicago due to injury.
Soroka getting hurt wasn't the Cubs' fault, but Soroka being placed in the bullpen down the stretch and in the postseason showed what they thought of his ability as a starter when the stakes are at their highest. Soroka is a fine back-end arm, but he isn't someone they should've trusted in October, raising the question of why they chose to trade for him to begin with.
To make matters worse, when Soroka was pressed into action in the NLDS, he failed miserably. Not only did he allow two inherited runners to score in Game 1 of the series, but he allowed three of his own runs to score the following inning. He entered that game with the Cubs trailing 4-1 and by the time the following inning ended, it was a 9-1 deficit.
Soroka is a decent swingman who can start and pitch out of the bullpen, but he isn't anything more than a back-end starter and disappointed when the Cubs needed him in October. Pass.
1) Kyle Tucker, outfielder
The Cubs took a major risk in the offseason, trading Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski to the Houston Astros in exchange for Kyle Tucker, a superstar who could leave after just one season, much like Juan Soto. The goal of that trade was to add a superstar to a lineup that lacked one, and in the first half of the year, the Tucker effect was real. He was having an MVP-caliber first half, and the Cubs were as good as any team offensively.
Tucker did not have the second half he wanted, but he had a chance to change the narrative in the postseason. Well, his numbers weren't terrible, but he drove in just one run, and that came in the bottom of the seventh inning of a game the Cubs were already winning 4-0. He didn't come through in several key moments, and his teammates failed to pick up the slack, hence their early exit. Given the clear impact Tucker had all year, Cubs fans should want him back, even with how things finished, but I'm not sure how realistic it is.
Tucker's numbers didn't end up where they were expected to be, which isn't a great sign ahead of an offseason in which he's going to be commanding upwards of $300 million. The Cubs have been reluctant to spend as is, so how willing will they be to spend truckloads of money on a guy who, frankly, underperformed in Chicago?
A report surfaced during these playoffs that Tucker wouldn't be back in 2026, and there's no reason to discount those rumors until the Cubs actually show a desire to swim in the waters Tucker will be in. I could be wrong, but it's looking like the Tucker trade will end up being a big bust for everyone other than owner Tom Ricketts' pockets and the Houston Astros.