MLB Rumors: 3 Chicago Cubs who won't be back if they miss the playoffs
By Mark Powell
The Chicago Cubs have lost six straight games against the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of a Wild Card race. Should they fail to make the postseason, heads will roll in the Windy City, and rightly so.
This Chicago team has many flaws, and they've been exposed against another postseason-caliber team like Arizona. Nothing is working in the Cubs favor right now, and as things currently stand, they would be on the outside looking in as the Marlins take the third Wild Card spot in the National League. As Patrick Mooney of The Athletic wrote, this was a collapse few in the organization saw coming.
"All the Cubs had to do was play their “brand of baseball,” and in due time, the Champagne would be flowing. Unless, of course, the team went into a nosedive that would place September 2023 among the worst finishes in franchise history. That appears to be where this is heading, barring yet another turnaround in a season full of whiplash. Those playoff odds on FanGraphs had dropped more than 33 percentage points by the time “Sunday Night Baseball” started."
Chicago is well out of the division race -- looking at those standings won't do fans much good. The NL Wild Card is very much in play. Yet, let's look at the worst-case scenario. What happens if the Cubs do miss the playoffs?
MLB Rumors: Chicago Cubs coaching staff won't look the same
The Cubs changes won't start up top in the front office. No, Carter Hawkins and Jed Hoyer are likely here to stay for quite some time. They've earned the trust of the Ricketts family. Instead, it's manager David Ross and his coaching staff who will likely be the scapegoats for this collapse, if it indeed comes to that.
Ross has been called out by fans for his poor performance of late, specifically when it comes to pitching changes and bullpen usage rates. Chicago's pitching staff ranks 13th in ERA and 12th in WHIP, as well as 22nd in K/9. Without Marcus Stroman, they've been even worse, with only a few starting pitchers they can rely on. With that in mind, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy could also be shown the door.
Andy Green, for much of the flack he receives on social media, has seemingly done a decent job with this team. He's helped Cody Bellinger revive his career, and leads a group of hitters that ranks seventh in runs per game. Surely there is room for improvement, but Chicago isn't in this situation because they cannot hit.