The opening of the Craig Counsell era in Chicago has met with mixed results. Inconsistencies have led to the Cubs falling in several offensive and defensive categories. The 53-year-old manager was an unexpected offseason acquisition for a Cubs team that is in the midst of a rebuild. Counsell previously turned around a struggling Brewers squad, taking them to five postseasons in his eight seasons as manager in Milwaukee. But so far, David Ross‘s replacement as manager in Chicago hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Defensive Question Marks
One glaring difference between this year and last is in fielding, where the Cubs have really stumbled. A team that last season ranked near the top of the league is currently near the bottom in fielding. Early on, the plague of miscues even touched gold glove defenders Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson and Nico Horner. Most of the Cubs regulars are beginning to return to form defensively. But defensive play in other areas doesn’t pass the eyeball test.
One of these is 3B where Counsell and staff have decided to give the Christopher Morel experiment a long trial. On the surface, this appears to be a sound idea. The Cubs are searching for a younger player to take the role previously occupied by Patrick Wisdom. Morel is endowed with incredible raw talent and a howitzer of a throwing arm. But his issues with accuracy have him at the bottom of the league in outs above average.
This looks eerily similar to last season when David Ross attempted to install Nick Madrigal at the position. Madrigal has proven to be steadier at the position than Morel, but he’s not a longterm solution. He’s a better overall hitter but lacks the power of either Morel or Wisdom at the position.
Same old song
One has to wonder what is different between what Counsell is doing and what Ross did last season. What’s the goal here? When he sees Madrigal whiffing on a smash that handcuffs him or Morel tossing the ball into the third row, what is he thinking? Especially when Wisdom, a supremely talented third baseman, is standing at first where he’s decidedly less comfortable.
Meanwhile, Michael Busch has played a sturdy 1B while contributing at the plate to the tune of a .777 OPS with eight HR and 23 RBI.
The Cubs’ other trouble spot is at catcher. Rookie Miguel Amaya and veteran Yan Gomes rank 25th in the league overall in WAA at the position. Here, Counsell has fewer options unless the Cubs look elsewhere to replace one of them. One short-term fix might be Colorado Rockies veteran Elias Díaz. Díaz is eighth in caught stealing with an OPS+ above league average and a slash of .303/.345/.439.
Where Are the Bats?
Hitting is another area of concern. The Cubs have dropped from the top 10 in OPS a season ago to the bottom third in the MLB. They’re down five places in LOB, and their play in the month of May won’t improve on that number. Here again, it’s difficult to see how Counsell’s coaching has improved the club’s approach at the plate over Ross.
Injuries have been a problem. The loss of Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki didn’t help. Both have struggled to return to their early season form. In the second year of his seven year contract, Dansby Swanson has struggled throughout the opening of the 2024 campaign. Swanson is one of the keys to the Cubs offense and will be needed if they’re to make a postseason run.
With a comparative dearth of sluggers in the lineup, the Cubs are dependent on their bat-to-ball skills to provide long rallies, big innings and more consistent run scoring. If Counsell is instructing his team to this end, it doesn’t seem to be catching on. There is leadership both in the clubhouse and in the dugout, and no manager can be blamed entirely for a lack of execution. But with so many returning players, the lack of consistency is glaring. At least some of this has to be laid at the feet of the Cubs’ new skipper.
A Patchwork Pitching Staff
Maybe the area where Counsell and his staff get the highest marks is in the management of the pitching staff. The low performance of relievers like Adbert Alzolay have put increased pressure on a staff decimated by injuries.. The Cubs currently have eight pitchers listed on the IL. The club was without its ace, Justin Steele, until May. Steele left the Cubs opener in Texas with a hamstring injury after throwing just 67 pitches. Likewise, Jameson Taillon got off to a great start before falling to injury.
Despite the lack of bullpen depth, the Cubs have held their own ranking sixth in the league overall in WAA in pitching.
The emergence of starters Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks (currently on the IL-15) has helped Counsell’s group stay competitive. Mark Leiter Jr., and Hector Neris have been the Cubs’ most reliable bullpen arms, and newcomers Porter Hodge and Tyson Miller (recently acquired from Seattle) have impressed in their Cubs debuts. For his part, Counsell has done a good job managing the late innings with a beleaguered relief staff.
Future now or future later?
Despite his team’s challenges, Counsell has managed the Cubs to within striking distance of first place Milwaukee in the NL Central. But at times, it seems Counsell, who’s regarded as one of the brightest minds in all of professional sports, is merely playing the David Ross playbook from last season. In view of this it’s hard to believe Counsell views vying for supremacy in the division as his primary goal in the short run. If that were the case, Wisdom would be a regular at 3B and Busch at 1B, with Morel in his rightful place in the DH slot in the lineup.
There is some precedent for exploring a player’s ability to improve or even excel at a given position. Ian Happ took over after the failed experiment to make former Cubs World Series stalwart Kyle Schwarber into a left fielder. Since then, Happ has earned two gold gloves and an all-star game appearance at the position. But while Morel has shown flashes of brilliance, the overall product is lacking, leaving Counsell to decide when enough is enough.
The rest of the starting squad seems to be rounding into form defensively, and the Cubs talented lineup should break out of its funk eventually. But the results on the field and on the stat sheet so far don’t indicate that Counsell’s influence has had the impact Cubs fans were hoping for with his hiring.
