The Chicago Cubs are ready to begin the final stretch of the 2026 regular season, and despite the injury trouble, they’re still in striking distance of winning the division. It’s taken some incredible performances to get them where they are, but there are also some players who have massively underachieved.

Let’s take a look at the biggest negatives, specifically the players who have hurt their individual value.

The Losers

Moises Ballesteros

The 22-year-old was given, and well, he did earn a golden opportunity to be the regular designated hitter to begin this season after an impressive cup of coffee at the end of 2025. With Owen Caissie traded and Kyle Tucker signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ballesteros had the path cleared out from the left side of the plate as the primary DH, but he couldn’t hold down the spot after the first two months.

Ballesteros got off to a strong start, seemingly making hard contact every other at-bat, and the results matched the eye-test, as he had an 1.144 OPS through April 27. However, his last 34 games were brutal, as the rookie hit .128/.217/.170, with only one home run, a double, a 14 wRC+, and a 50.7 GB%. He was optioned to Triple-A on June 18, and at this point he won’t be called up unless there’s an injury on the active roster.

Hunter Harvey

The Cubs signed right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Harvey to a one-year deal that guaranteed him $6 million. That might not sound like a ton, but considering Harvey only pitched 10.2 innings with the Kansas City Royals in 2025 and had injury concerns, it was a pretty good chunk of change for the 31-year-old. And well, there’s no chance the Cubs are going to pick up $8 million option for next season as Harvey hasn’t been healthy since the first week of April.

Harvey only appeared in four games with the Cubs in the first half, and now that the All-Star break has passed, the right-hander still hasn’t gone out for a rehab assignment. The pitcher has been sidelined with right triceps inflammation, and time isn’t on his side now as we approach August.

Training Staff

Every single team will deal with injuries, some more than others, and while injuries can sometimes be bad luck, this is now the second consecutive year in which the Cubs have suffered an abnormally high amount of pitching injuries. What makes it even more problematic in 2026 is that not only have the injuries persisted on the active roster, they’ve spread throughout the entire organization, all the way down to the lowest level in the minor leagues.

Get it together!