Injuries bite, but sometimes they don’t sink their teeth in all the way. That’s pretty much the best way to describe the 2025 Chicago Cubs. If someone told you at the end of spring training that Justin Steele would be out for the year, Miguel Amaya would hit the injured list before June, and the bullpen would look like a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing the lid of the box, you probably wouldn’t have expected this team to be above .500, let alone sitting at the top of the division. But here they are, scrapping, adjusting, and putting wins together even as their original plans get torn up and re-drawn week by week.
When Steele went down one week into the season with elbow tightness, the initial reaction was “he has struggled with this type of injury in April before” and “he may need Tommy John surgery”. A week later it became official— he had surgery to repair the flexor tendon and repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. That was a brutal blow. This was the guy who had become the anchor of the staff over the last few years , someone the Cubs were counting on to eat innings and give them a chance to win every fifth day. Losing a pitcher like that changes the whole complexion of your season. And yet, the Cubs didn’t spiral.
They plugged in Colin Rae, who’d showed flashes up in Milwaukee last season. His last two outings were very rocky after he took over in quite a solid way for Steele. In his last two starts, both against Cincinnati, he gave up 12 runs over 10.2 innings. Then there’s Cade Horton, the highly-touted prospect who made his debut three weeks ago and immediately made his presence felt with poise and command beyond his years. There’s also Matthew Boyd, a veteran who has been quite solid this season with a 3.08 era and a 5-2 record in 11 starts. the highly-touted prospect who made his debut in May . You can’t replace Steele, but the Cubs haven’t collapsed under the weight of losing him either. That says something about the depth they’ve built.
Then you look at the bullpen, and things get even more complicated. For the third straight year, the Cubs went into a season with a back end of the bullpen that looked better on paper than it did in real life. Ryan Pressly, the veteran brought in to handle high-leverage situations, has been inconsistent. His fastball command isn’t what it used to be, and there have been moments where Craig Counsell has had to turn to other options just to get through the eighth or ninth. Luckily, those other options have mostly delivered.
Guys like Caleb Thielbar and Daniel Palencia have found ways to step up, even when their roles seem to shift weekly. Porter Hodge was looking great in the closers role before he to was knocked out with an oblique injury a couple weeks ago and is now not expected to return for at least a couple more weeks as he deals with a hip impingement issue. Then there’s Drew Pomeranz, who’s become a bit of a favorite thanks to his 0.00 ERA after 15 appearances. You wouldn’t say the bullpen is lights-out, but it’s held the line well enough. And in the NL Central, where every team feels one or two injuries away from a five-game losing streak, holding the line is often enough to keep you in the race.
The catcher situation looked steady going into the year, with Amaya ready to take a step forward both defensively and at the plate. But of course, injuries had other plans. A left oblique strain landed him on the 10-day injured list a few days ago, and now the Cubs are juggling again. Reese McGuire, the veteran catcher they called up from Triple-A Iowa, has been fine. He knows the game, handles the pitching staff well, and isn’t going to try and do too much. Carson Kelly has handled the bulk of the starts lately and has also been serviceable. But the long-term intrigue is clearly with Moisés Ballesteros.
Ballesteros is raking in Triple-A, and fans are already buzzing about when he’ll called back up after making his debut a week or so ago. The question is whether the Cubs want to throw a young catcher into the mix with any regularity midseason when game-calling and pitch framing still need work. If the team continues to win, it buys Ballesteros time to develop. If injuries or poor performance start to pile up, he might be on the express bus back to Wrigley.
Offensively, this team has exceeded expectations. Kyle Tucker has been everything the front office hoped he’d be when they pulled off that massive offseason trade. He’s hitting for average, showing power, stealing bases, and playing good defense. Through two months, he’s in the thick of the MVP conversation. That’s not something most fans expected from a guy making the switch from the American League to the National League in a contract year, but Tucker looks completely comfortable at the plate and in the field.
Seiya Suzuki might be the most pleasant surprise. Everyone knew he was talented, but this year he looks like the player the Cubs envisioned when they signed him from Japan—a middle-of-the-order force who can drive in runs, work counts, and hit the ball to all fields. He’s been patient and aggressive at the right times.
Then there’s Pete Crow-Armstrong, the speedster who made headlines in 2024 when he was called up to the majors and hasn’t looked back since—aside from one short stint down in the minors after his debut to get some more seasoning. He’s not just fast—he’s electric. His presence on the basepaths changes games, and even when he’s not getting hits, he’s finding ways to impact games defensively and with his legs. If he continues to develop his power, we could be talking about one of the most dynamic center fielders in baseball by season’s end.
So yes, the Cubs have been bitten by injuries. But not all bites draw blood. This team has shown a knack for pivoting, for staying steady even when key contributors are unavailable. It’s the kind of resilience that good teams have, not just the flash-in-the-pan squads that make a run for six weeks and fall apart when things go sideways.
We haven’t even mentioned guys like Michael Busch, who’s been quietly productive, or Dansby Swanson, who’s been a steadying veteran presence at shortstop. Even Nico Hoerner who was day-to-day a couple times back in April but has generally helping the offense stay consistent.
Here’s the thing, folks: All of this points to one big takeaway—the 2025 Cubs are deep. And that depth is why the injuries, while painful, haven’t wrecked the season. The front office deserves credit for building a roster that isn’t reliant on just one or two stars to carry the team. When someone goes down, someone else steps up. When a plan falls apart, they come up with a new one. It’s not always pretty, and it’s definitely not easy, but it’s working.
With that… As the calendar flips to June, the Cubs are firmly in the playoff race. They’ve taken some punches, sure, but they’re still standing. And if they can stay close to healthy from here on out—or even just avoid another big hit to the rotation or middle of the lineup—there’s no reason to think the front office won’t make a trade or two allowing them to be playing meaningful baseball in September. Maybe even October. Injuries bite, but sometimes the team bites back.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them!