CINCINNATI — Whole sections of the Great American Ball Park stands sat empty as the Cubs and Reds began their final game of the season. The rest hosted a smattering of fans clad in red and blue.
The gentle murmur of the crowd, punctuated now and again by a slightly raised voice that carried clear across the ballpark, served as a reminder of how far from the playoffs the Cubs were finishing the season.
Across Major League Baseball, teams and fan bases were gearing up for a postseason push. Not on this sunbathed field in Cincinnati.
“I still want to be playing,” Cubs manager David Ross said before the Cubs’ 15-2 win against the Reds on Wednesday. “That’s the way I reflect. I look at it like, we’re going to be better really soon, and let’s hurry up and get there because I’m ready to play into October. I’m jealous of the teams that are going on to play, and having to watch that on TV, and want to get back into that arena. So, we’re almost there, but we’re not yet. And we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
To get there, the front office also has plenty of work to do. The Cubs finished the season with a 74-88 record, sitting in third place in the NL Central ahead of two 100-plus loss teams, the Reds and Pirates. The roster could use support in all facets of the game — pitching, hitting, defense.
“There’s a lot of different directions they can go with it,” shortstop Nico Hoerner said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “I don’t know exactly what it looks like, or even who’s going to be here next year, and that’s a strange part of this time of year, for sure.
“But I just hope that whatever it is, it’s geared towards building a competitive team next year that’s going to fight for the division and that also sets us up for continued success for years beyond that. And I think that should be the standard here.”
Catcher Willson Contreras is expected to sign elsewhere in free agency, so the club will have to replace his bat and add more thump to their lineup. Center field, which the Cubs could fill internally or externally, is up for grabs. In the infield, only Hoerner has definitely claimed an everyday role. But he could play shortstop or second base, depending on whom the Cubs acquire in the offseason.
The shortstop free-agent market is strong for the second straight year. It’s set to include Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts (can opt out) Carlos Correa (opt out) and Dansby Swanson (in extension talks with the Braves).
The Cubs’ pitching infrastructure has garnered praise this year for the starters it has produced at the upper levels of the farm system. But that young pitching depth won’t mean anything without rotation additions.
“If you go and add a top-of-the line rotation arm to what we already have,” lefty Justin Steele said, citing the Cubs rotation’s 2.89 ERA in the second half, “you could see something really special unfold.”
A strong rotation would do a lot to take pressure off the bullpen. And the Cubs add veteran bullpen arms on short-term deals every offseason.
Rookie Brandon Hughes has established himself as a reliable late-inning reliever, and Codi Heuer is expected back from his Tommy John surgery rehab next season. In the playoffs, however, having Hughes and Heuer coming in before an experienced closer would give the Cubs a more solid footing.
“We made some strides this year,” bullpen coach Chris Young said. “You saw some guys finish strong, which is huge. If we’re keeping the bar high, we should have three or four more weeks of baseball left. That should be the mindset. That should be the goal.”
Instead, the Cubs’ season ended in a meaningless blowout win Wednesday. With two outs in the ninth inning, fans clad in Cubs jerseys and seated up the third-base line rose to their feet and chanted “Let’s go Cubbies,” ushering in the offseason.
