One Area Where The Cubs Desperately Need To Improve For 2026

The Chicago Cubs had a strong 2025 season, finishing the year 92-70 and earning a Wild Card spot.

They finished five games back in the National League Central, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers, the league's top seed. Chicago’s sustained success was in large part due to a tremendous season on both offense and defense.

For starters, the Cubs shocked the league with their power in 2025, finishing sixth in home runs with 223. That included six hitters who hit 20 or more, three of whom surpassed 30. As a result, they finished tied for third in RBIs, trailing only the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

All of this led to the Cubs finishing fifth in runs scored, trailing four ballclubs that finished with 93 wins or more, two of which made the World Series.

Pete Crow-Armstrong | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Additionally, their defense was rock solid, giving their pitching staff a much-needed boost. The Cubs finished with the third-highest fielding percentage in baseball at .989, the highest of any playoff team.

Chicago also recorded the second-highest DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) and were the only team to have a positive DRS total in eight out of nine positions. The Gold Glove trio of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner certainly contributed to that, as well as two-time Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson.

With that being said, Chicago’s offensive and defensive prowess masked one of their biggest issues, one that needs to be addressed heading into 2026.

Cubs need strikeouts

Although the Cubs finished ninth in ERA, their strikeout numbers were quite poor, to say the least. Chicago finished 27th in the majors in strikeouts, by far the lowest total of any playoff team. For comparison, the next lowest team to reach the postseason was the Boston Red Sox, who made a Wild Card appearance after finishing 16th in strikeouts, 11 spots ahead of Chicago.

Only four Cubs’ pitchers finished with 100 or more strikeouts and Matthew Boyd was the only one to reach 150. Despite combining to make 45 starts, the duo of Jameson Taillon and Cade Orton each failed to reach 100 K’s. Heading into the 2026 season, how can Chicago improve in this area?

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Upgrading starting pitching is the easiest answer, and the Cubs have already made moves to do that. Edward Cabrera posted a 9.8 SO/9 last season, adding more swing and miss to Chicago’s rotation. Additionally, Justin Steele returning from injury will do wonders as the left-hander finished top-five in Cy Young Award voting in 2023 and racked up 176 K’s.

Adding Zac Gallen may be the best answer though, as he’s finished with 175 or more strikeouts in three of the last four seasons.

Either way, with or without Gallen, Chicago should be poised to improve on their strikeout totals in 2026. That said, it’s imperative for the Cubs to close the gap and become less reliant on their fielding. Despite posting a sub 3.85 ERA as a pitching staff in 2025, their xERA (expected ERA) was over 4.00.

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