Bregman takes the fall as Cubs offense struggles while rotation keeps getting hit

CHICAGO, June 8, 2026 - The Cubs are dealing with a double problem, one that has been hard to separate. Their rotation has been battered by injuries, but in the last month the offense has not provided enough support often enough to mask the instability. After Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco Giants, Alex Bregman took responsibility for the part of the slide he believes he can control most directly.

Bregman’s comments came as the Cubs watched pitching depth “disappear” in real time. Justin Steele is out, Matthew Boyd remains sidelined, and Cade Horton is injured, and then Jameson Taillon exited Sunday’s game with a left hamstring strain, a development the team treated as another blow to an already taxed rotation. In the clubhouse, however, Bregman said the recent skid cannot be explained only by the staff on the mound, particularly because the offense has repeatedly failed to turn advantage situations into runs. “I’ve had plenty of opportunities with runners in scoring position and I need to be better,” Bregman said. “Plain and simple. I need to be better for this team. They brought me here to play good baseball and I haven’t played good baseball. I need to figure it out.”

Bregman’s tone was notable because he is the centerpiece addition the Cubs made to reshape their offense. He signed a five-year, $175 million contract last offseason, and through 65 games he is hitting.243/.327/.342. Over his earlier career, his production profile has been markedly stronger, and the Cubs’ current offensive output has put his role in the spotlight during a stretch where other hitters have also been searching for answers.

The team’s struggles show up in situational numbers as much as overall averages. Since May 1, Chicago ranks 25th in MLB in runs scored with 134. The Cubs are second-to-last in batting average with runners in scoring position at.201, and they have struck out with runners in scoring position more than any other team, 172 times. Their team batting average sits at.239, which is 19th in the majors. The result has been a pattern of long innings that do not become crooked numbers, and that has left Chicago trying to win games with pitching that is asked to hold leads longer than it can safely afford.

That pattern was visible across the Giants series. Against San Francisco on Saturday, the Cubs loaded the bases twice after Pete Crow-Armstrong’s game-tying homer but failed to capitalize, leaving nine runners on base through seven innings. They did avoid a second straight loss through Crow-Armstrong’s second home run of the day, a game-tying blast with two outs in the ninth, and then a walk-off win in the 10th. Sunday was different in its scoreboard outcome but consistent in its theme: the Cubs supported Javier Assad’s strong outing with only one run in a 2-1, 10-inning loss after Taillon left in the second inning.

Taillon’s departure matters for the larger context, because it landed on top of the Cubs’ existing rotation absences. Taillon expects to land on the injured list, according to the reporting tied to his immediate postgame remarks, and the hamstring concern further compressed the margins for a staff already reshaped by injuries. Taillon had made 12 starts and posted a 5.13 ERA with 57 strikeouts across 66 2/3 innings before leaving Sunday. Assad, recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, responded with 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out five. The Cubs still could not turn enough scoring chances into runs in the back half of the game.

With the offense still searching for consistent production in late innings and key situations, the Cubs now sit at 34-32, 7 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has said the position-player group is the foundation of the roster, and Bregman’s response effectively echoed that belief while pointing at the most obvious missing ingredient: cashing in when runners are already in scoring position. The next test for Chicago will be whether the hitters can do enough to make the injured rotation problem easier to manage, rather than compounding it.