Suzuki's impending return could give Cubs much-needed boost

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. This version was written by MLB.com's Max Ralph.

The Cubs offense has been awfully streaky to begin the 2026 season, right in step with a pedestrian 6-6 start.

Chicago is averaging 9.2 hits and 6.5 runs in its six wins but just 5.3 hits and 2.8 runs in its six losses. Hitting with runners on base has been a particular deficiency, ranking 25th in MLB with a .227 batting average and 29th with a .320 slugging percentage.

Of course, it’s still a small sample, and those numbers should regress positively to the mean over the course of 162 games. Frigid temperatures at Wrigley Field and for the Cubs’ series in Cleveland have also hindered production.

But there were some signs of life for the Cubs this week in climate-controlled Tropicana Field, where they won two of three against the Rays. In a nine-run, 16-hit outburst Tuesday, the Cubs had six hits with runners on base, including a double and a home run. Pete Crow-Armstrong smashed his first long ball of the year, and Alex Bregman was finally rewarded for his 90th-percentile hard-hit rate (55.9%) with three hits.

More good news should be on the way offensively, as slugger Seiya Suzuki is set to rejoin the club on Friday in Chicago at the start of a three-game series with the Pirates. Suzuki has yet to debut in 2026 after sustaining a minor sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the World Baseball Classic.

The 31-year-old outfielder/designated hitter began a rehab assignment with Double-A Knoxville last Friday, and he’s torn up Southern League pitching. Suzuki slashed .462/.467/.615 across his first four games with two doubles and a walk, including a three-hit day Tuesday. He additionally converted all four of his defensive chances in right field. Suzuki struck out and walked in his final tuneup Wednesday before being replaced by a pinch-hitter.

In short, he looks ready to get back to the Friendly Confines.

“Seiya, last year, he was arguably one of our best hitters. Hit for power, got on base,” teammate Matt Shaw said on Tuesday. “So having him is putting one of the best hitters in the Major Leagues in your lineup. I think that's going to be absolutely pivotal for us.”

Suzuki has shown a knack for clutch hits in his career. He has a career .274 batting average and a .467 slugging percentage with runners on, and he excelled in that area during his career-best season in 2025.

His 103 RBIs led the Cubs -- even despite a .213 average during an extended second-half cold streak. But he then heated right back up, hitting five homers in the final four games of the regular season and three more in the postseason.

"This guy hit third or fourth for us all year last year, so you're putting one of your core offensive players back in the lineup," manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday.

The bat is Suzuki’s calling card, as he’s been roughly average or slightly below on defense every season. Even so, that may be an upgrade for the Cubs. Shaw is still learning right field after coming up at third base as a rookie, and Michael Conforto has graded poorly over the past few years.

The Cubs wanted Suzuki to be ready to play the field when he comes back, which would thus allow them to use Shaw in the valuable super-utility role that was envisioned at the outset of Spring Training.

For one reason or another, the Chicago offense has yet to really hit its stride in a year filled with high expectations. Perhaps Suzuki -- in the final season of his five-year, $85 million contract with the Cubs -- could be just the spark they need.

"We've got a lot of talented and established hitters in our lineup, but there's a level of threat with his power that I think is a real factor for just how I imagine other pitchers have to face our lineup and what they consider," teammate Nico Hoerner said. "He's got the ability to flip a game around with one swing. He hit so many three-run homers last year. … We obviously miss him a lot and can't wait to have him back.”