3 Cubs players fighting for their jobs in final month of the season

It's safe to say that the 2024 season has not gone the way that the Chicago Cubs intended it to. They might technically still be alive, entering Thursday's action 5.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot, but let's be real. With 18 games to go, their chances of playing postseason baseball are slim to none.

The regular season is looking as irrelevant as ever because postseason games almost certainly won't be played at Wrigley Field in 2024, but that doesn't mean Cubs fans have no reason to stop tuning in, and that doesn't mean Cubs players have no reason to play hard to wrap up the season.

Many players already have spots on the team secured past the 2024 campaign, but these three individuals in particular still have a lot to prove. They're fighting for spots on an MLB roster, whether it's in Chicago or elsewhere, in the final couple of weeks of the regular season.

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3 Cubs players fighting for their jobs in final month of the season

3) Kyle Hendricks, RHP

If this is it for Kyle Hendricks in Chicago, boy, did he go out on a sour note. The right-hander has made 26 appearances this season (21 starts) and has a 6.51 ERA in 112 innings of work. The once-consistent workhorse has looked like a shell of himself virtually all season long, and it's sad to see from the last remaining member of the 2016 World Series team.

His fate should already be sealed with the 34-year-old headed to free agency at the end of the year, but could a strong finish help him land a deal somewhere?

Hendricks has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 11 of his last 14 starts dating back to mid-June, showing that he might just have a little bit left in the tank. The three bad starts were bad, but he's been mostly solid over the last couple of months when the Cubs have been short-handed in the rotation.

If he continues to pitch well in his final couple of starts to wrap up the season, there might be a rotation spot available for him somewhere, even if it isn't with the only MLB team he has ever known.

2) Jordan Wicks, LHP

Jordan Wicks started the third game of the regular season for the Cubs and made five starts, allowing two earned runs or fewer in four of the five, before landing on the injured with a forearm strain. He returned in June and made a couple of appearances, before once again landing on the IL, this time with an oblique strain.

He returned once again to begin September, pitching well in his first two starts, but allowing seven runs in just three innings of work his last time out. That rough outing raised his season ERA from 4.03 to 5.27.

Wicks has certainly pitched much better than a 5.27 arm, but his spot in the rotation is nowhere near guaranteed. Assuming they're healthy, Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon should all have spots. Guys like Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski who are injured now but have shown flashes when given opportunities will certainly at the very least compete with Wicks for starts, and that doesn't even include potential free agency additions or the emergence of a younger prospect like Cade Horton.

Wicks has promise, but the southpaw couldn't stay healthy in a year where he could have potentially proven himself. He'll get a couple more starts to show what he can do. Hopefully, for his sake, he can come out of them healthy and having pitched well, to make him the front runner in what could be an interesting competition for the final spot in their rotation.

1) Miguel Amaya, C

To say that the Cubs' production behind the plate has been lackluster would be kind. It has been putrid. The Cubs rank 28th in the majors with a 67 WRC+ from their catchers and 29th with -0.2 fWAR. Only the 33-114 Chicago White Sox have seen worse production behind the dish. Guys like Yan Gomes and Tomas Nido who struggled to the point where they were DFA'd deserve blame, but perhaps nobody deserves more blame for that than Miguel Amaya, the team leader with 92 starts behind the dish.

Why Jed Hoyer was comfortable with the duo of Gomes and Amaya starting games behind the dish to start the year is unclear, but it was apparent from the jump that those two were not good enough.

The one saving grace for Amaya is that he has produced more offensively as the season has progressed. He was a non-factor to begin the year, but has slashed .273/.310/.446 with four home runs and 23 RBI in the second half giving Cubs fans some semblance of hope that he might be something.

While he has undoubtedly played better lately, the body of work is far from stellar in Amaya's first two MLB seasons, and the Cubs should absolutely look for upgrades in the offseason. Amaya could potentially be a backup for Chicago, but the fact that he's out of options makes his spot on the roster dicey. If the Cubs do what they should do this offseason, Amaya will enter Spring Training without a guaranteed roster spot or at the very least without a chance at being the starter.