Travis Jankowski did not hold back when it came to complimenting the Cubs’ environment. 

“The culture’s unbelievable,” Jankowski told Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker, “I’m a firm believer that talent wins championships, but it doesn’t do it without culture.”

Jankowski’s compliments didn’t stop there, as he also referred to the Cubs as a “championship culture,” and saying the Cubs’ “talent speaks for itself.”

Winning a World Series is not unfamiliar to Jankowski, who earned a ring in 2023 as a member of the Texas Rangers. But like the Cubs in 2016, their path to the championship was not an easy one. 

After narrowly missing out on the AL West title, the Rangers went on the road to face the 99-win Rays, the 101-win Orioles and the battle-tested Astros. Texas went on to defeat the Diamondbacks in 5 games to win the title. 

Jankowski became an unlikely hero in the Rangers’ 2023 World Series run. The outfielder replaced Adolis García in right field in Game 3 after García sustained an oblique injury during his 8th inning at-bat. Jankowski went on to record a multi-hit, multi-RBI game in Game 3, which the Rangers won 11-7. 

Throughout the World Series, Jankowski notched a .333 average, .400 on-base percentage and an .844 OPS for the Rangers. 

The Cubs have a multitude of recent World Series Champions on their roster. In December 2022, they signed Dansby Swanson to a 7-year contract just a year after he won the World Series with the Braves.

This past offseason the Cubs acquired four players with championship pedigree: Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier and Justin Turner. With this amount of experience in the clubhouse, the Cubs have made it clear that their goal is to return to the playoffs.

Travis Jankowski signed a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training in late February.