It’s no doubt that Chicago has been united over its sports teams for nearly a century. However, the country’s third largest city is split North and South for Major League Baseball.
The Cubs and White Sox embark on their 150th and 125th seasons, respectively, on Opening Day on March 26.
Both clubs have had eventful off-seasons, which included adding multiple high level hitters and pitchers.
Starting on the North Side, the Cubs finished 92-70, eclipsing the 90-win mark for the first time since 2018.
Even though they were the best team in baseball at the start of July, a second-half regression saw them 5 games behind the rival Milwaukee Brewers at the season’s end, the team who ended up eliminating them in the National League Division Series.
President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer decided not to re-sign 2025 All-Star Kyle Tucker after an up-and-down season and used the resulting money on one of Tucker’s former teammates, 3B Alex Bregman.
Bregman spent an injury-riddled 2025 on the Boston Red Sox, but still was named an All-Star and posted his best batting average, slugging percentage and OPS since 2019, a year where he was the runner-up AL MVP.
He will slot in at the hot corner, taking former organizational top prospect Matt Shaw’s place, who will likely move into a super utility role.
For a pitching staff that only had three true starters in the final postseason series, more arms were desperately needed to take the team to the next level. Ace Justin Steele will return early this summer after elbow surgery kept him out of all but four starts a season ago.
Hoyer still went after one more guy to add to the rotation and sent current top prospect Owen Caissie to the Miami Marlins for Edward Cabrera. Cabrera has dealt with injuries during his young career but is coming off his best year yet, maintaining a 3.53 ERA.
With the starters shored up, a rebuilt bullpen looks to replicate last year’s success, as newcomers Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, and Hoby Milner will add to the up-and-coming Daniel Palencia and southpaw Caleb Thielbar.
While having a very strong defensive infield, the success of the 2026 Cubs falls on the shoulders of the outfield.
Pete Crow-Armstrong took the league by storm last year, hitting 30 HRs and stealing 30 bases, the first Cub to hit those marks since Sammy Sosa. However, only six of those homers came in the second half, and he is yet to put together a full season.
Ian Happ is coming off his fourth straight season winning the Gold Glove in left field but is now 31 years old. In each of his nine seasons in the blue pinstripes, he has posted an OPS+ over 100, meaning he has been an above league average in hitting every year. A similar status-quo season will go a long way towards a playoff push.
After a year of Tucker patrolling right, Seiya Suzuki slots back in to play the field, who had a -3 Outs Above Average in his last full season defensively. Despite being the designated hitter, Suzuki’s swing and miss were up, but he unlocked the power, also launching 30 homers. He did suffer a minor PCL sprain during the World Baseball Classic, which might affect Craig Counsell’s Opening Day plans.
If the best versions of the starting outfield and pitching staff can perform for the majority of the year, expect another postseason appearance for the Cubbies.
While the city’s Southside has only seen two winning seasons compared to the Cubs’ eight over the last ten years, the White Sox have reason to believe that this year is different.
This offseason, Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami was slated to come over to the MLB, with many experts believing that he was the best since Shohei Ohtani in 2018.
Surprisingly, his market was lower than expected, allowing the White Sox to sign him to a 2 year, $34 million contract.
Despite not being the contract he hoped for, this deal greatly benefits both parties.
Murakami can be acclimated to American baseball before turning 28 in two years, while the White Sox have a young talent to build around and sell tickets.
He will likely play first base and has the potential to be the team’s first 30 home run hitter since Jim Thome in 2006.
Along with Murakami, general manager Chris Getz added eight of the team’s nine most expensive players this winter alone, perhaps suggesting a shift into spending more money.
Amongst those eight are veterans like reliever Seranthony Domínguez, Austin Hays, and Jordan Hicks.
If the White Sox do start off poorly again, they can look to offload these players to add to an already strong farm system.
The farm is highlighted by the powerful outfielder Braden Montgomery and lefty pitchers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, all of which are predicted to reach the big league club this year.
The years of José Abreu, Tim Anderson, and Eloy Jiménez are long gone, and so is Luis Robert Jr., who was traded to the Mets in a package highlighted by Luisangel Acuña, brother of Braves former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.
While playing the infield in New York, Acuña will get a chance to take over in center field and will receive his first consistent amount of playing time.
Former prospects like Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Colson Montgomery will all have the ability to play a full season in the majors and will look to build on their positive first seasons.
With the Cubs looking to make another postseason run, and the White Sox hoping to maximize the next generation of talent, Chicago has plenty to enjoy this baseball season.
