Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - When can Cubs fans expect Alex Bregman to heat up?

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman's struggles at the plate this season.

Rahimi Harrison Grody That sounds so crazy 104.3 the score. Wow, I like that. Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. It is Rahimi Harrison Grody on the score on a Tuesday. It is Tuesday.

It is Tuesday. Sometimes you've got to think. You got to wonder. This is my first day back since our trip to circus swim. Did you sleep it off yesterday? I did. I had a lunch thing

that I went to yesterday. I was full of energy. I walked 45 minutes there and back, and then I was like, oh, I need a post-vacation nap. So I took myself about a 90-minute nap yesterday, felt refreshed, and here I am. Here we are talking about the Chicago Cubs and a very emotional loss to the Philadelphia Phillies last night. And just looking at the New York Times athletic, they do the power rank.

for Major League Baseball every year. And just looking at where they have the Cubs. Cubs are still top 10 team, according to these particular power rankings, tied for eighth. The previous power ranking that they had had was tied for ninth. Here is the little synopsis. I want to get your reaction to Marshall Harris.

Early surprise Alex Bregman's negative 0.1B. War. If you want a positive spin, Nico Horner's new found ability to unearth extra base hits has been a nice one. And Edward Cabrera's 10-year in Chicago has started really well. But I don't think either of those is all that surprising. So it's Bregman who entered Monday night's

matchup against the Phillies, hitting just 213, 618 OPS. It's not as if Bregman has never slump before and for his career, March slash April, is the only split in which his career OPS is under 800. It was a 765. This is a little bit worse than that, so it qualifies, but it would be much bigger surprise if Bregman's slash line looked like this by the end of May, they say. That's what we're all counting on, but he might be indicative, symbolic of what is going on with the Chicago Cubs offense right now.

I'll take it one further when you talk about him. and symbolic of the Cubs struggles offensively. Here's the thing you need to understand. That man has a four-game hitting streak right now after going one-for-four against the Phillies. He's actually batting 294 over his last four games with an on-base percentage of 350. Those are good numbers.

Here's the problem. During that time, not a single extra-base hit. This season, you'll remember against Washington and the one loss he had two home runs. The two home-run game, yep. He has a single double. Those are his only three extra-base hits and 74 plate appearances all seasons.

Yes, it's so funny. When he hit those two arms, I was like, okay, he's here. He's here, and he's going to blast off from there. And he did not. Where did he go after that? Hasn't. He has gone, whew. Yes, back to baseline, not enough.

But I look at Alex Breggman. He's just one guy, right? Unimportant guy because of the amount of money that they gave him because of where he hits in the lineup. But I look at him, and I look at Michael Bush, who, again, didn't even get to start the last two games because of how much he struggled. I doubt he'll start tomorrow with another left-hand.

on the mound for the Phillies tomorrow. But the argument to be made, hey, you said you're going to let him play against the left. He just let him play. Like he has a good memory, his last time at the plate, coming up with a big RBI single, not the strongest, hardest hit ball of all time, but it got the job done and the Cubs comeback win.

But when you look at Bregman and when you look at Michael Bush and when you look at Pete Crow Armstrong, the question is, who do you need to come out of this the quickest and provide a little bit more pop than what we've seen? from the Cubs. Well, and a texter takes it a step further just to make it even more dramatic here from the 847. Grody, how long of a leech leash does PCA gets

so far is looking like the second half of last year? Richard. He's going to get a really, really, really long leash. Of course, as we have seen with Michael Bush and other players in the past and the time that Craig Counsel has been here, he will sit you down for couple of days of necessary. He will change up the batting order. He will, he definitely will try different things to get guys going. So no, it's not, it would have to be colossally bad for the Cubs to do like to bench piece. They just paid the man. They are projecting big things from him.

So I don't see something dramatic happening unless he just completely falls off the face of the earth. But it's definitely worth monitoring. I mean, we talked about it all. off season in who is the real PCA? And I think the easy answer for all of us was probably a little bit of both, right? He's not the guy who was on the crazy like MVP tear doing like historic things that he was in the first half, but there's no way he could possibly be what he was at the end of the season where the whole thing went, whew, went completely haywire. So it's very, it's comforting to say that it's a little bit of both.

But right now, I have no idea. idea with still playing great defense, still can run, all that stuff, but the hit tool needs to come back. And in order to make your running count, you got to get on base, right? He's got a 239 on base percentage. And we talked about the Alex Breggman lack of extra base hits, lack of power. PCA's got a double and a home run. Those are only two extra base hits in 68 played appearances.

So more of the same. If you're wondering why the Cubs aren't getting it done, we talked about the two-game stretch over the weekend when they lost the part. no extra base hits to speak up for the whole team. That is indicative of a team that's struggling from a power standpoint, and they need guys like PCA and, of course, Michael Bush, and the new guy, Alex Bregman, to have more pop. They have not had pop.

And they're not going to beat teams like the Phillies or the Mets or the Phillies again, or the Dodgers or the Padres without pop. That's bottom line. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that was the one thing, too. that I just assumed would be there. You know what happens when you assume.

Yeah, that is true. That is true. And then, you know, like a lot of this has been about the offense. But right now, the Cubs are in a spot where your best starting pitcher is not the guy that we expected to be this year. It's Shoda and Managa right now. I'm glad you said that. Is it not? I'm glad you said that.

Yeah. It is. You didn't think that I would come around? Do you think that I would just stick with my? negative stance on Shoda. You don't think I could look at what's in front of me and just say... The way we were talking after his first start, I was like, guys, it's okay, he gave up a home run. He's going to give up home runs.

It's not a big deal. It wasn't a big deal. You know it was a big deal? Cubs weren't hitting that day. And most days this year, the Cubs have not hit and have not scored runs. Yeah, but there was, like, you have to admit, like, you watch the games last year. He was giving up crucial home runs last year. And he did, like, in that first game, that was a three-run homer that showed it allowed.

So excuse me. Before everybody was talking about Shota, who was talking about Shoda last year? Oh, you love Shoda. No, no, but I'm saying, saying, get Shoda out of there. Who was saying that? Who was leading the- Oh, because you love Colin Ray. No, it's because Shoda was giving up home runs every time he stepped on the mound.

Well, right, right. And then you dismissed his three-run homer that he gave up earlier this year. Because I saw the other peripherals as having improved from the back half of last season to, okay, this is something that we can work with. And he's proven that his next two times out. Yeah, well, hopefully he keeps that up. I mean, like, I guess my point is, as I am, although he is your best pitcher right now, I'm not comfortable depending on him to be your best pitcher this year. And some people probably push back with Edward Cabrera, but he's walking too many guys right now.

Ben Johnson wanted me to tell you something. Oh, yeah. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Because that's where we're at. Speaking of Ben Johnson, the Chicago Bears head coach, can we talk some draft? coming up? I mean, it's in nine days, so if not now, then win. Yeah, because I think that there, I think I have narrowed down for today anyway, because it's a fluid situation. We could all change our mind. But I have figured out the position that I am most comfortable in the Bears

drafting at number 25 overall. So I would like to share that with you and maybe push back a little bit on some of the other popular positions that people are talking about with the Chicago Bears at number 25. So we will talk draft and the Chicago Bears next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104.3, the score.