Inside the core, success and expectations defined by the 2025 Chicago Cubs season

Dansby Swanson reflects on the Cubs' accomplishments in 2025: 'A lot to be proud of'

The Chicago Cubs won over 90 games, won a playoff series and took the Brewers to five games. Dansby Swanson focused on the team's accomplishments.

This one will sting.

The Milwaukee Brewers ended the Chicago Cubs’ season in the National League Division Series. The NL Central rivals upended their former manager and the team that refers to American Family Field as "Wrigley North."

They even flew the L flag on the field. 

It’s a bitter pill to swallow. While time eases all wounds, the pain might only grow depending on how far the Brewers can go. If they advance to the World Series and win it, that’s an entire offseason of remembering how the Cubs fell just short against their rival.

But, that shouldn’t overshadow where the Cubs stand. The 2026 season has the chance to be even better.

Big picture view:

The 2025 Cubs had a ceiling, and the team reached it in the postseason.

There’s never anything wrong with losing to a better team. Especially with the Cubs’ pitching rotation already down Justin Steele and Cade Horton, and with Kyle Tucker still nursing his injured calf.

The Brewers were just better, and the Cubs can start looking for ways to build a roster that can beat the Brewers. 

Odds are, they’ll be right back in a battle with Milwaukee next season. There’s a strong chance they’ll be in another playoff series vs. the Brewers next year, too. As much as Cubs fans probably hate to admit it, the road to the NLCS or World Series will run through the Brewers.

That Brewers-Cubs rivalry is now elevating close to the Cubs-Cardinals stratosphere, but that’s another conversation for another time.

The bottom line is the Cubs have a core in place that’s strong enough to make the playoffs. Considering the addition of Tucker last offseason was meant to make them a playoff team, the biggest reason the Cubs won 92 games was that the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, and others became a playoff team.

After that, the Cubs’ bullpen, one of the problem spots at the start of the season, improved to the point where they were dependable in the playoffs. If Daniel Palencia isn’t the closer of the future, he’s a sparkplug with his walk-in music and ability to fan batters with 100-miles-per-hour heat.

It wasn’t just one player. Craig Counsell deserves credit for that development. Tucker, who sounded like a player who most likely won’t be back after Game 5, was part of it but never the sole reason. While this team would benefit from a full season of a healthy Tucker, the debate comes down to: would the Cubs be better off paying Tucker the money he asks for, or would they be better off using that money to address multiple positions?

Reading between the lines, the Cubs would prefer to do the latter. They’ve never spent like the Dodgers, Yankees or Mets. In a way, this core proves they don’t need to spend to contend for a spot in the National League Championship Series.

Still, making it to the NLCS shouldn’t be the goal. Winning the World Series is. Counsell understands this.

"Ultimately, the reason why you want to win 92 games is because you want to play in a World Series and then win a World Series. We should have those expectations. We should have them every year," Counsell said. "That's why when you say you win 90 games, because you got a chance to win the World Series if you do that. When you don't do it, it's disappointing."

What is disappointing is going 83-79 and missing the playoffs. That was the 2024 Cubs. This year’s team brought playoff baseball back to Wrigley.

They don’t deserve to be tagged as a disappointment after a fun summer because they lost to the best Brewers team in Milwaukee franchise history in a winner-take-all Game 5. The Yankees, last year’s World Series runner-up, losing in the ALDS is disappointing.

"You’ll take that every single year. I think every team would," Counsell said.

However, winning 92 games and making the playoffs has become the expectation for this core of players under Counsell.

What's next:

Now, the pressure is on Cubs president Jed Hoyer. 

Hoyer was questioned for not selling hard at the trade deadline to acquire another top-line starter or another active bat for the playoffs.

His reasoning was that the Cubs have players in their pipeline they can count on in the future. In turn, however, that meant the future might not be the 2025 season. That future should be 2026, though.

Cade Horton is probably the NL Rookie of the Year. Moises Ballesteros and Owen Caissie saw time in the big leagues this year. Jacob Amaya should be healthy in 2026.

Still, more needs to happen. The Cubs could use another starting pitcher and could add to the bullpen. If the team doesn’t re-sign Tucker, they’ll either need another outfielder or another designated hitter. Suzuki could slide back into the DH spot, but the playoffs showed his defense wasn’t a liability.

Opening the DH spot would give the Cubs more flexibility in free agency. All of Wrigleyville and Cubs fans beyond have imagined a Kyle Schwarber homecoming after he mashed 54 home runs and 132 RBI as the Phillies DH in 2025.

But, that’s coming in the winter.

Nothing can happen until the playoffs finish, and Hoyer will have to watch that from the comfort of his home like all other Cubs fans.

The Cubs faithful can take solace in the fact that the Cubs have a team that’s capable of a 90-win season and winning a playoff series. That’s the floor for next season. The team has an offseason to make sure next season’s ceiling is higher.