The starting rotation is in flux at best. The bullpen sets up as a crapshoot of intriguing arms.
And the season starts in less than a week.
So how about those Cubs’ bats, you say?
“I think our offense is going to be our strong suit,” Cubs manager David Ross said.
Assuming baseball can pull off a 60-game season during this pandemic, that still-young core of Cubs hitters might have to do its heaviest lifting yet to put this team into a playoff race, never mind to play much, if at all, in October.
And that means Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and maybe Albert Almora Jr. are on the clock — one that’s starting to tick faster as Friday’s opener against the Brewers draws near.
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“I think that’s the ‘X’ factor for us this year,” Ross said. “Guys like Happ and Almora. Schwarbs I think showed tons of signs of that All-Star status. I think he’s that guy; I believe in him. … He’s one of the best players when he’s in the box on our team.”
Schwarber put together a huge second half last year (.997 OPS) that he seemed confident he’d carried into spring training before the coronavirus shutdown began in March — and has only backed up with early results since summer training camp got started.
How fast he can start takes on added significance with Anthony Rizzo’s early season on shaky ground because of a balky back.
But to Ross’ point, career breakouts of former single-digit first-round draft picks Happ (ninth in 2015) and Almora (sixth in 2012) might become especially necessary in a short season for a team that has less pitching depth than it has had since it turned a competitive corner in 2015.
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Once Rizzo returns, the All-Star core of Kris Bryant, Rizzo, Javy Baez, and Willson Contreras makes up a formidable, reliable 1-through-4 in the lineup, with Schwarber in the top-five mix.
But in a season they might have to outslug teams more often to win a playoff spot, what comes next might make that difference.
The lineup gets a boost from the addition of the designated hitter this season and what should be the hitter-friendly part of the Wrigley Field calendar for the 30 home games.
The rest might be up to the two center fielders, Happ and Almora — hitters who have performed well for stretches of past seasons but are still looking for their first full seasons of consistent, everyday production.
Both were among the hitters who took advantage of advanced work during the shutdown to stay prepared, and Almora, in particular, has looked impressive in training camp the last two weeks.
“You look at these guys and the expectations that they have for themselves and that we put on them as an organization,” Ross said. “That’s going to be the ‘X’ factor, those guys that can come and be consistent.”
The next two or three months might not add up to anything close to a 162-game test. But the trying, real-world circumstances in play and the built-in urgency of the short schedule make it a unique challenge that might offer an even greater proving ground in some ways.
And might prove even more meaningful than ever from a competitive standpoint for this team.
“One of the hardest things about being a major league player is the consistency and being able to bring that day in and day out with their at-bats and their performance,” Ross said, “staying in the right frame of mind, not riding highs and lows, especially in a season like this, where it is [so few] games that we get to play.
“It’s important for sure.”