The Chicago Cubs outfield was a team strength last season and a couple of players got awarded with a solid ranking amongst their peers, but one of their star players was notably absent.
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently released his updated ranking of the Top 25 outfielders in baseball after the conclusion of the 2024 MLB season and the Cubs saw Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki make the top 20.
Cody Bellinger, however, was subjected to the 'honorable mentions' category. Pete Crow-Armstrong also was also an honorable mention, but that should be expected.
Happ was the highest-rated Chicago player on the list, coming in at No. 15. He was third on the team in fWAR, tied with Suzuki at 3.6. At least in that metric, he seems to be at a good spot.
The switch-hitter posted a .243/.341/.441 slashing line this season with 25 home runs and 86 RBI. That has been on-par with what the Cubs have come to expect from him.
Suzuki was, without a doubt, the best hitter on the team last season. He did it all at the plate, providing a .283/.366/.482 slashing line with 21 home runs and 73 RBI.
He isn't a great defender, but has been able to translate his batting skills with ease since coming over from Japan a couple of seasons ago.
If it weren't for an injury keeping him out for about a month, he would have likely picked up some more WAR and finished a little higher on this list.
The fact that Bellinger wasn't able to join his teammates on the list is exactly the reason that Chicago was hoping he would opt out of his deal and are now trying to trade him away.
He wasn't awful, but he needs to be better to warrant his hefty price tag. His .266/.325/.426 line with 18 home runs with 78 RBI was a big step down from last season and not worth the $27.5 million that they are now on the line for again.
He will need to come back stronger next year if he wants to cash in on another big contract, no matter the uniform he ends up doing it in.
Crow-Armstrong making the honorable mentions list should be considered a win given how poor the start of his year was.
He is a truly special defender, but needs his bat to continue to improve before he can be in the conversation with the best outfielders. His numbers were much better in the second half of the season, so that is at least a start.
