By the time you are sitting down to read this article, it’s most likely that the 2022 MLB season is officially over. With just one game remaining at the time of this writing, the Chicago Cubs have a record of 73-88, and will finish in third place in the NL Central Division.
It appears that this team was on track to lose somewhere between 90-100 games, but a strong second half kept them from getting to that number. That strong second half is the biggest takeaway from the 2022 season as it could give some hope for the future.
Manager David Ross was able to get as much as he could out of this team, and he should get a ton of credit for his work in 2022. The players that finished out the season also deserve some credit as they showed up to the ballpark each day and came ready to play.
This team was never going to be good enough to be a playoff contender in 2022, but they still provided some memorable moments. Fans continued to show up at Wrigley Field throughout the summer, and they were usually given a good show by a team full of players that cared about winning.
Small Trades Made, Big Names Stay
It was expected that the Cubs would go through another firesale at the Trade Deadline, and there were certainly plenty of moves made. The bullpen saw a number of players leave in July, but the two biggest names remained with the team.
Ian Happ and Willson Contreras were two of the biggest trade pieces that teams wanted, but the Cubs decided to hang on to both players. It’s unclear if either player will ultimately be a part of the core moving forward, but it was nice to see them in the Cubbie blue for a few extra months.
No More Rebuild
This has been mentioned plenty over the past few weeks, and it will continue to be discussed moving forward, but the rebuild ends now. There is simply no reason that this Cubs team should have to go through another season without the talent to at least compete for a playoff position.
Several Cubs players were quoted as saying how close they believe they are, and it certainly appeared that way over the last few weeks. It’s not just going to magically happen, though as Jed Hoyer and company are going to have to spend money wisely.
Despite spending the final two months of the season without a shot at the postseason, this season should actually be viewed as a success. This team was able to introduce a ton of young players to the MLB level, and several players passed the test with flying colors.
We’ll get to the offseason soon, but hats off to the Cubs for a strong finish to the 2022 season.
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