The Cubs’ season ended Wednesday night with a sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres in the National League wild-card series, and Ian Happ may have played his final game in a Chicago uniform.
That possibility hangs over everything now. Happ is headed for free agency for the first time in his career, and after 10 seasons with the Cubs, he sounded like a player facing more than just the end of a postseason run.
"It's challenging. I've never had to go through the free agent thing," Happ said.
"I've never had to do that. It is certainly a challenging part of this game.
When you're in a place for 10 years, and you love it, and it's special, and it means something to you, it's a beautiful thing, but it makes it challenging. It's been an incredible place for me.
It's been special. It's given me so many moments and memories."
The emotion didn’t stop with Happ. Dansby Swanson, who has been his teammate for four seasons, was visibly moved in the locker room when talking about what Happ has meant to the organization and to him personally.
"He's meant a lot to me. I think he truly embodies what it means to wear the jersey, and I know he would probably never say that himself.
The kind of tradition and legacy that he's carried on from that '16 team, just the lessons that he has learned and he's taught me a lot about. He's my longest friend that I've had here.
That probably speaks enough for itself. He embodies the Cubs more than anyone I know.
He is a big reason why I'm here, and I'm very thankful for him."
Happ’s run in Chicago began in 2017, right after the Cubs’ 2016 World Series title, and he grew into one of the familiar faces of the franchise alongside names like Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. In the second half of his time with the team, he added even more to his résumé, winning Gold Gloves from 2022-25.
If this is the end, it’s a major chapter closed. Happ said it plainly.
"All I can say is that I love being a Cub," Happ said. "I've loved my time.
I've loved the place, the people, Wrigley Field, the fanbase. And it's been truly special.
I don't think there's a better place in baseball to play."
There is still a path for him to stay. The Cubs could bring him back, and Fansided's Pat Ragazzo reported this week that Happ might even be willing to take a "hometown discount" to remain in Chicago. For now, though, his future is one of the biggest questions of the offseason.
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Nick Pivetta set the tone for the Padres, and the bullpen carried it from there, with Gavin Sheets delivering the biggest swing as a pinch-hitter with a two-run homer. For the Cubs, the frustration will linger because this was not a series defined by one meltdown so much as a failure to build momentum at any stage, the kind of postseason ending that tends to spark more questions than answers once the clubhouse empties. [Read more 🡒]