Why the Chicago Cubs can win without Bryce Harper
The comeback year
A lot players struggled to produce last year. Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Wilson Contreras took a step back in their play. The Cubs tried to fix the Cubs hitting issues by firing their hitting coach, Chili Davis, and hiring Anthony Iapoce.
Out of all the players that struggled, the most important player from their offense to struggle was Kris Bryant.
#Cubs19For19: Will the birthday boy, Kris Bryant, bounce back in 2019? pic.twitter.com/jD1mwQwsoI
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) January 4, 2019
It was a rough season for Kris Bryant. Due to a shoulder injury that kept Bryant out for a significant amount of time, Bryant wasn’t able to put up similar numbers from when he won the National League MVP back in 2016.
State of the #Cubs: We know Kris Bryant will be playing 3rd, but who will be his primary backup at the hot corner?
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) January 8, 2019
The depth chart and more: https://t.co/M8hp6wuJya pic.twitter.com/7Lx7Pm0FPQ
As difficult as it was for Bryant last season, the Cubs need Bryant to lead the offense and be that franchise changing player that they drafted second overall back in 2013. Last year, he only appeared in 102 games, hit a batting average of .272 and had only 13 home runs, and 52 RBI’s. It was the worst numbers he put up for of his career.
The Cubs need him to hit 25-30 home runs and around 100 RBI’s again like he did in 2016. It’s a lot to ask, but that needs to happen if the Cubs want to win another World Series.