Chicago Cubs: Michael Busch coming alive is a really big deal

The Chicago Cubs have been convinced about Michael Busch’s “for realness” almost from the moment they brought him over in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January of 2024 for well-regarded prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope.

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And the team has been steadfast in their belief that he would be THE Cubs first baseman over the long haul.

Right now, the day after a tenth inning Busch walk-off single versus the Cincinnati Reds, following an eighth inning home run to tie the game, the confidence seems absolutely warranted.

But that confidence was in danger of being shaken early in this 2026 season when the 28-year-old was buried in an ugly career-worst slump.

Busch’s brutal slump

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Through the end of April, Busch was hitting just .193 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs. If you excluded his 3-for-4 Opening Day performance, things looked even uglier as he posted a miserable .173 batting average from March 28 to April 29. At one point, he went through an excruciatingly rough 0-for-30 run.

His defense was still solid and he was still the same positive presence in the clubhouse, but the bat was dead.

“It’s been pretty frustrating,” Busch said at the time. “I think I’ve built a solid enough foundation to kind of try to get back and try to just continue to work.

“I think balancing that through the season is challenging, and it always will be, but sometimes, it’s part of this game. I think when things are going this way offensively, you just try to find a way, whether it’s defensively or on the bases, to help this team win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

To make matters worse, Chicago was all-in on Busch after last year’s 34 home run, 90 RBI season that all but cemented his spot as the team’s sole first baseman. They had picked up Tyler Austin as a backup, but Busch was 100% the guy.

And when Austin went down with a knee injury, Busch was not only THE first baseman, he was the ONLY first baseman.

That’s why his slump was so scary for a Cubs team with deep postseason aspirations. There was no Plan B after Busch.

Snapping out of it

Thankfully, though, Busch began May on fire and hasn’t cooled down yet.

In May, so far, he’s hitting .471 with a 1.487 OPS and has 8 RBIs in five games. He’s playing a big role in the Cubs’ current 7-game winning streak, as well as their 13-game winning streak at home.

And that’s great for Chicago because, with a pitching staff besieged by injury, they absolutely don’t need another roster crisis to work through.

Busch has been a plug-and-play guy throughout his three years with the team, someone they could just put into the lineup and not worry about. He wasn’t a superstar presence, he just delivered. And the Cubs will need that as they push hard for a postseason run.

“[It’s] Another win…Keep stacking them,” Busch told Marquee Sports Network after the walk-off, as ‘Go Cubs Go’ still played over the Wrigley Field sound system. “The fans make it the best place in the world to play. I’m just thankful to be a Cub.”

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