The Good, Bad and Ugly of the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 Season

The Chicago Cubs finally returned to the playoffs in 2025. The Cubs even won a playoff series. But the run ended in the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cubs have set themselves up to be contenders again in 2026, though they’ll need to make some significant postseason moves in their starting rotation and at the bottom of their lineup. But, along the way, some great things happened to a franchise that will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its 2016 World Series title next year.

As the Cubs pick up the pieces and head to the offseason, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly for the 2025 season.

The Good

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) reacts in a white uniform and blue batting helmet — Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Outfield

The trade for Kyle Tucker, the emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong, and the surging season of Seiya Suzuki gave the Cubs one of the most formidable outfields in baseball. The trio slammed 85 home runs and drove in 271 runs in the regular season. PCA could be an MVP finalist. Chicago has to figure out how to re-sign Tucker.

New Rotation Members

Rookie Cade Horton (11-4, 2.67 ERA) and veteran Matthew Boyd (14-8, 3.21) gave the Cubs a terrific 1-2 punch behind left-hander Shota Imanaga. The pair rescued the rotation in the wake of the injury to Justin Steele early in the season. Horton is under team control for five years. Boyd is under contract next year. Both should be back in 2026.

Michael Busch

Acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2024 season, he has been one of the team’s best transactions of the last two years. He led Chicago with 34 home runs and drove in 90 runs. Considering he plays first base, his power — and four more years of team control — is a perfect fit.

The Bad

Chicago Cubs pitcher Michael Soroka throws in a blue uniform and blue hat — Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Third Base Plan

Matt Shaw eventually embraced the job and hit 13 home runs, but he only batted .226. Still, that’s a good thing considering Chicago’s backup plan was a combination of Jon Berti, who played in just 51 games and hit .210, and Vidal Brujan, who batted .222 in 36 games. Trading Isaac Paredes to Houston led to short-term pain.

Lackluster Call-ups

Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros were two of the top prospects in the organization, and both made their Major League debuts in 2025. While it can be unfair to grade prospects on their rookie seasons — most struggle — the hype around the pair led to some inevitable disappointment. In 32 combined games they hit three home runs, though Ballesteros batted .298.

Michael Soroka

The Cubs made three notable trades at the deadline, but Soroka was supposed to give the starting rotation some backbone down the stretch. An injury in his first start limited him to 8.1 innings. He did return for the playoffs but allowed three earned runs in 1.2 innings for a 16.20 ERA.

The Ugly

Justin Steele

Losing Steele early in the season set the Cubs back for nearly the entire campaign. Worse yet, it’s Tommy John surgery. The only upside is that it happened so early in the season that he could be back for the second half of 2026.

The former Cy Young finalist’s injury was a tone-setter that robbed the Cubs of the prospect of a 1-2 punch with Imanaga. There is no guarantee Steele will give the Cubs much of anything in 2026, either.

The Other Astros Trade

Chicago traded for reliever Ryan Pressly to close the ninth inning for the Cubs. He was designated for assignment at the trade deadline after he lost the job to Daniel Palencia. At 36 years old, he went 2-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 44 games, with five saves in seven chances and seven holds. It just wasn’t a good fit. At least that deal didn’t cut the Cubs Cam Smith.

Carlos Santana

A last-ditch flier for more punch in the lineup yielded nothing. The former All-Star accepted an option to the Cubs’ ACL team in late September after he batted .105 in eight games with no home runs. He didn’t provide the Cubs with anything in the postseason. It’s logical to wonder why Chicago even picked him up in the first place. But 335 career home runs will make a team do strange things, including picking up a 39-year-old.

The Latest Chicago Cubs News