Previewing an important ‘24 for the Cubs

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian's Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MESA, Ariz. -- Kyle Hendricks remains the only player left on the Cubs’ roster who won the World Series with the franchise eight seasons ago. He knows firsthand how difficult it was to navigate an entire season and then end a 108-year title drought. All the celebrations that followed were icing on the historic cake.

So, when the Rangers raise their World Series banner and show off their championship rings during the opening series in Texas, Hendricks will respect the moment, while also being able to reflect on his own experience. The veteran pitcher is also looking forward to having the current Cubs squad begin this important campaign as witnesses to the goal at hand for them in 2024.

“That's where we want to get to,” Hendricks said.

After a late-season slide that dropped Chicago from the postseason field a year ago, the task at hand for the Cubs under new manager Craig Counsell is to get back onto the October stage. Hendricks likes the early litmus test that the Rangers will provide, plus series against the likes of the Dodgers, D-backs and Astros, among other formidable foes, looming in April.

“It's going to get us right into the mode,” Hendricks said. “If you want to get to where you want to be at the end of the year, you've got to beat the good teams. [The Rangers] are obviously one of the ones at the top. Our stretch here at the beginning, we've got a few good teams. I think it's going to be great for us. Get us right into the action, kind of see what we've got.”

Let’s break down a few keys to the coming campaign for the Cubs.

What needs to go right?

Key steps forward in ‘23 need to prove to be real
There were a handful of important developments last season that the Cubs need to be indicators of what’s to come, as opposed to misleading mirages. Cody Bellinger was the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year and one of the game’s elite situational hitters. Seiya Suzuki was one of baseball’s best hitters over the final two months. Justin Steele emerged as a Cy Young contender and Adbert Alzolay stepped up as a lock-down closer. The pitching pipeline started to shore up weak spots in the rotation and bullpen. If that can all hold up as real, the Cubs will be in great shape in ‘24.

Great unknown

Will Christopher Morel stay put at third base?
Pretty quickly after taking on the Cubs’ managerial job, Counsell talked up the potential of the 24-year-old Morel. The manager wanted Morel’s potent bat in the heart of the lineup, but also needed a better fit than simply rolling him out as a designated hitter. This spring, Counsell had Morel spend his time nearly exclusively at third base, giving the young infielder a chance to seize that position and improve his performance through consistent work at one spot. If Morel sticks and proves he can handle that role full-time, that could be a huge win for Chicago.

Team MVP will be?

Seiya Suzuki
The Cubs’ right fielder is coming off a scorching-hot showing in Spring Training that resembled his work over the final two months of last season. As a refresher, Suzuki posted a 183 wRC+ across August and September in ‘23, which ranked third in the Major Leagues among qualified hitters, trailing only Mookie Betts (194) and Marcell Ozuna (186). Simply put, Suzuki was one of the best offensive performers in baseball for 40% of the season. If he can build off that confidence-boosting conclusion, the outfielder would be a force for Chicago.

Team Cy Young will be?

Justin Steele
Steele is an organizational success story for the Cubs, who picked the lefty in the fifth round of the 2014 Draft. After injuries threatened to derail his development in the Minors, Steele broke into MLB as a reliever in ‘21, began to assert himself as a starter in ‘22 and was then an All-Star and a Cy Young contender (fifth in voting in the National League) in ‘23. Now, Steele is taking the ball on Opening Day for the North Siders. Armed with a deceptive fastball-slider mix, the lefty went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts against 36 walks in 173 1/3 innings in ‘23.

Bold prediction

Michael Busch will win NL Rookie of the Year
This year’s rookie class has some formidable contenders for the award between the Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Brewers' Jackson Chourio, the Giants' Jung Hoo Lee and Busch’s teammate Shota Imanaga, among others. That said, Busch could be a sneaky pick in that category. Remember, this is a player the Cubs felt had “conquered” the Minor Leagues (he hit .323 with a 1.049 OPS in Triple-A last year) when they acquired him from the Dodgers in January. Chicago handed Busch the keys to first base and is giving him ample opportunity to back up that belief.