As the Cubs play out the final stretch of the season, Isaac Paredes’ performance will be one of the areas fans will be paying close attention to.

Paredes was the Cubs’ signature addition at the trade deadline, a hitter that just last year showed his ability to carry an offense. That hasn’t been the case so far with his new team, though. The 25-year-old has struggled to adapt to his new surroundings and hasn’t been the spark to the offense they hoped he would be.

“It’s a bit difficult,” Paredes said after the Cubs’ 2-1 win over the Yankees on Sunday. “But I believe I can adjust and honestly, I’ve faced difficult challenges and I am happy that I’m going through all of that to learn quicker and how to get out of them.”

Entering Sunday, Paredes was hitting just .162/.283/.274 (.556 OPS) in 34 games and has yet to live up to the 31-homer, .840 OPS level player he was last year in Tampa Bay when he received down-ballot MVP votes.

“It’s just been some timing stuff that he just kind of hasn’t been able to consistently feel good at,” manager Craig Counsell said before the Cubs’ win. “And that leads to the quality of the contact. He’s still doing a good job with his ball-strike stuff, that’s still there.

“But where he’s struggled is just kind of the consistent quality of contact that got him off to such a good start this year.”

He delivered the crucial, 2-run RBI single in the 1st inning Sunday that proved to be the difference in the series finale against the Yankees. A strong run over the final 19 games would give both the Cubs and Paredes confidence heading into 2025.

“Look, he’s a good hitter,” Counsell said after the game. “We haven’t seen it consistently so far. But I think days like that are always big days, and I think helping your team win always makes you feel good.”

The Cubs entered their 6-game homestand this week with a chance to strengthen their playoff case. A 2-4 record essentially wiped away their postseason hopes and will have them 5 games back for the final NL Wild Card spot.

As the Cubs shift their attention to 2025, Paredes will be a key name to keep an eye on. The Cubs are locked in at nearly every field position, which means hopes of offensive boosts will likely have to come internally.

There might not be a better choice than Paredes.

In 2023, the Cubs offense was 6th in baseball in runs scored and a big part of that was the play of Cody Bellinger. Bellinger played at an elite level last year, carrying the offense at multiple times throughout the season to the tune of a .307/.356/.525 (.881 OPS) slash line, a 136 weighted runs-created plus, 26 home runs and 97 RBI.

Bellinger has been solid this year (.748 OPS, 108 wRC+, 15 home runs, 60 RBI), but it’s not the game-changing bat that it was last year.

“We don’t have any one player having the type of season that Cody had for us last year,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said on Friday. “It felt like, at times, he was just kind of carrying our offense. Every big hit, he was in the middle of everything.

Paredes’ production in 2023 was actually pretty similar to Bellinger’s season — .250/.352/.488 (.840 OPS), 136 wRC+, 31 homers and 98 RBI. If the Cubs have that kind of production for a full season next year, that can be the boost this offense needs.

“I think this year we have a lot of balance, and we have a lot of players having solid years now that they’ve come out of their May and June swoon,” Hoyer said. “But I think that we don’t have anyone doing that. And I think that is the difference between this year and last year.”

The Cubs will hope Sunday is a good start in setting Paredes up for 2025.

Paredes has felt good in his cage work with his timing, but that hasn’t translated over into games. The final 19 games of the season provides ample time to fine-tune that.

“I don’t think there’s much difference in the mechanics, it’s just taking the plans to the batter’s box,” Paredes said. “They haven’t worked for me and honestly, I’m not executing how I want to.”