The final 10 days of the regular season are here, and for the Cubs, the focus has shifted from chasing the NL Central to locking down the best possible playoff setup.
Milwaukee already wrapped up the division, so Chicago’s path now runs through seeding. The goal is simple: finish strong enough to grab the No. 4 seed and secure home-field advantage in the Wild Card Round. That means piling up wins against the Reds, Marlins, and Red Sox, with Cincinnati and Miami standing out as matchups the Cubs should handle.
But the standings aren’t the only thing worth watching as the season winds down. Two bigger questions are hanging over this last stretch.
One is what the Cubs do with Edward Cabrera. The buzz was real when Chicago sent top prospect Owen Caissie to get him, and Cabrera delivered enough early on to justify the excitement.
Since then, though, the injuries have piled up, and he’s barely pitched since June. The Cubs have tried moving him to the bullpen to ease the strain on his arm and avoid a longer rehab path, but the first look was rough.
On Tuesday against the Braves, he gave up a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin that helped put the game out of reach, and he also issued two walks among the 10 batters he faced.
At this point, there’s not much reason to expect Cabrera to suddenly become a reliable October weapon. The Cubs have already invested plenty, but they can’t keep forcing a shaky arm into a postseason role just because of what it cost to get him.
The other question is whether the Phillies are really as intimidating as they’ve looked for much of the year. They’re the likeliest opponent if the Cubs and Padres end up in the expected No. 4 vs.
No. 5 matchup, and the only real prize left there is home-field advantage. Philadelphia has not exactly been cruising into October, going 5-8 to start September and dropping multiple series.
The injury to Jesús Luzardo only adds to the uncertainty, especially if he can’t return in time or won’t be stretched out enough to work like a normal starter.
Christopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler still make the Phillies dangerous in a short series. That part doesn’t change. But if Chicago can push the matchup into Wrigley, the path to the NLDS suddenly looks a lot more manageable.
In Other News...
Cubs Wild Card Race Just Got A Lot More Complicated
The National League wild-card picture tightened again Tuesday night, and the Cubs are right in the middle of it. San Diegos 8-2 win over Miami pushed the Padres to 85-69 and left Chicago in a three-way tie with the Padres and Phillies, turning a race that already felt crowded into something even more volatile as the calendar starts to run down.
Fernando Tatis Jr. helped flip the game with a tying RBI single, then Ty France delivered the bigger swing with a three-run homer and a new career high of 21 home runs on the season. The Padres are now four games from clinching a playoff spot, and for the Cubs, the result is a reminder that every result around the league matters just as much as their own over the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Fans Have One More Reason To Love Their Core Right Now
Pete Crow-Armstrongs new six-year, $115 million extension gives the Cubs another cornerstone to build around, and it arrives at a time when the organization is clearly trying to lock down its next long run of contention. Chicago already secured Nico Hoerner on a six-year, $135 million deal and added Alex Bregman in free agency, putting a recognizable core in place for the coming years and giving fans a much clearer picture of what this roster is supposed to look like.
For a club that has spent plenty of recent seasons searching for stability, keeping Crow-Armstrong in the fold through at least 2032 is the kind of move that can shape the rest of the rosters trajectory. It also comes as another young star in the division, Cincinnatis Elly De La Cruz, has drawn attention for his uncertain future after reportedly turning down a major contract offer, a reminder that the Cubs are doing their part to avoid that sort of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Face A Justin Steele Decision That Could Shape October
Justin Steeles rehab work in the minors has started to look more like a pitcher knocking the rust off and less like a question mark, and that matters now because the Cubs are pushing toward October with every roster spot under a microscope. After left elbow surgery, Steele has been building through minor league starts, and his latest outing was his sharpest yet, the kind of step forward that forces a team to start weighing present need against long-term caution.
Chicago now has to decide whether Steele is ready to come back in a bullpen role for the stretch run or whether it makes more sense to keep waiting and protect the bigger picture. The Cubs have already shown they are willing to err on the side of restraint, having shut down Shelby Miller in a similar situation, and Steeles timeline could end up being one of those roster choices that says a lot about how aggressively the club wants to chase the postseason. [Read more 🡒]