Veteran-laden Cubs could ‘do something really special’ after reaching NLDS in '25

MESA, Ariz. – Cubs manager Craig Counsell is not big on speeches. He believes there is more value in the conversations that happen throughout the spring and during the season, while players are working to improve or experiencing the ups and downs that each year inevitably presents.

Ahead of the first full-squad workout of the spring on Monday morning, though, it was time for Counsell to give his annual address to the team. One of the manager’s messages early on in this camp is that players, coaches and staff work extremely hard to wind up on a team that has the kind of talent and expectations surrounding this 2026 Cubs squad.

“It’s hard to get in a place where you’re here on this team with this bunch of guys,” Counsell reiterated after the day’s workout.

And one reality for this particular Chicago roster is the considerable number of key players who are potentially in the final year of a contract. Core players like Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner are in the last season of extensions. Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki are among those in the final year of free-agent contracts. Matthew Boyd heads a list of players with an option for 2027.

On one hand, the high volume of potential free agents gives the Cubs flexibility for future seasons. In turn, it also creates a heightened sense of urgency for the players in the fold right now. They expect to make the playoffs this year and hope there is a World Series trophy at the end of the ride.

“I’ve talked with some of the other guys who are on their last years,” Taillon said. “We’re all just embracing this year as like, ‘We have the chance to do something really special together.’ Who knows if we’ll all be back next year, so why not just make the most of this year? Work our tails off together. Try to accomplish something really special.”

The bulk of this Cubs group got a taste of October last year.

The North Siders won 92 games, dispatched the Padres in the National League Wild Card Series and lost in five games to the rival Brewers in the NL Division Series. It was a disappointing conclusion, but the five raucous postseason games at Wrigley Field fueled the drive to get back on that stage and do more.

“I would expect everyone to have higher expectations this year,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said on Monday morning. “Obviously, we want to win the division. We should win the division. It’s just a matter of executing and staying healthy, and I think we should be right there.

“You want to win the division for a lot of reasons – not just because it’s aggravating not to. But you want to put yourself in the best position for the playoffs as well. So, hopefully we’ll execute against that plan and be there at the end of the season.”

Ricketts was also confident that the players facing free agency would have the right response to their situation.

“All those guys are real professionals,” Ricketts said. “They always come ready to go and they always give their best. So, I’m not sure that’ll change at all. I’ll leave it to [president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer] on what the roster construction looks like in the future. That’s 100% his decision.

“I just hope that everybody has a great season. And some of the guys might move on next year – I don’t know. But I think everyone is focused on ‘26.”

Hoerner – a first-round Draft pick by the Cubs in the 2018 season – said he saw this as a great chance for the players in that category to embrace this year.

“Plenty of guys are on their last year here,” Hoerner said. “We’ve been fortunate to play as a group for a while. And I think that just creates excitement. You don’t get to share a locker room – a consistent core – a lot in the big leagues.

“And so to have that opportunity to have gotten better and to now be in a place where we can really seize that opportunity is super exciting.”

Those comments fit within the message Counsell has for this ‘26 Cubs team.

“It’s this team. It’s now. That’s to be present,” said the manager. “Be present in what you have the opportunity to accomplish with your friends, with your teammates, with guys that you’ve gone through maybe some different times with. And that’s a real opportunity. That opportunity is really special. We should be wanting to grab that.”