Chicago Cubs Have One Glaring Issue Holding Them Back This Season

The Chicago Cubs have been getting the job done on the field thus far in the 2025 MLB regular season.

They are entering play on April 22 with a 14-10 record, holding onto first place in the National League Central. Since losing the first two games of the year in the Tokyo Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, they have found their stride domestically.

Leading the way for their strong performance is their offense, which is near the top of the league in several categories.

Their offseason addition of right fielder Kyle Tucker has been as great as they'd hoped it would be. He is anchoring the lineup and his teammates are following suit, scoring runs in bunches.

The three-time All-Star has a .302/.404/.615 slash line with six home runs, eight doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and four stolen bases. He has drawn 17 walks and struck out only 14 times, getting the job done in every facet offensively.

He has an elite 188 OPS+, which is second on the team behind only catcher Carson Kelly, who has been scorching hot.

Signed to a two-year deal in free agency, he recorded a cycle in his third appearance of the season on March 31 and hasn’t stopped hitting. He has an eye-popping 321 OPS+. Nine out of 14 positional players have an OPS+ in the triple digits above league average as this offense can score with any team in the league.

It is a good thing they are capable of that, because the Cubs need all the runs they can get with how shaky their bullpen has been.

Forgive fans who are feeling a bit of deja vu in the first few weeks of the season, as this is a similar path Chicago followed in 2024 and the results were not as positive as anyone wanted them to be.

At this point last year, the Cubs had an abysmal bullpen and were ranked No. 9 in the power rankings shared by The Athletic (subscription required). In their year-to-year comparison in this week’s edition, they are in No. 8, looking to overcome the same obstacles.

“The Cubs’ bullpen has been bad. Like, bottom five in the league in a lot of categories bad. But their offense has been incredibly good. Like top five in the league in a lot of categories good. They lead the sport in scoring (145 runs) and run differential (+41),” wrote Levi Weaver of The Athletic.

The rollercoaster ride was on full display last week against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After giving up 10 runs in the top of the eighth inning and blowing their six-run lead, Chicago scored six runs in the bottom of the inning to take a two-run lead, winning the contest 13-11.

It was a full display of the extremes the team has shown with a truly elite offense and a bullpen on the opposite end of the spectrum.

If the Cubs can shore things up behind their starting pitching, they are going to be a very dangerous team.