After missing the playoffs for 4 straight seasons, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office are using October as a time to step past the 83-win plateau they’ve found themselves in of late.

In 2023, Cody Bellinger performed at a level that garnered down-ballot MVP votes — .307/.356/.525 (.881 OPS), 26 home runs, 97 RBI, 136 wRC+ and a 4.4 fWAR. But he was hurt and missed time during which the Cubs sunk to 10 games under .500, leaving them chasing and out of fuel by late September.

This season, Bellinger was good — .266/.325/.426 (.751 OPS), 18 HR, 78 RBI, 109 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR — but not the star-level player that could carry an offense for extended stretches. The lack of star power was evident for the Cubs as they went from scoring the 6th-most runs in baseball to the 12th.

The Cubs roster is littered with solid, above-league-average performers that would thrive with a star bat mixed into the lineup — the type of player who doesn’t slump often and can deliver a big hit when needed.

“It’s a hard thing to figure out,” Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference. “If you look at the 12 teams in the playoffs, like every team in the playoffs has a guy that had 5 or more wins [WAR] this year. So there’s no question that when you’re looking to beat projections, when you’re looking to have that excellent season, having players just outperform expectations is a big part of it.”

The answer might be in free agency for the Cubs, but there are about 3 weeks before that begins and the unpredictability of it means landing that player is far from a guarantee. So, who are some internal candidates that could provide the 5-WAR bump the Cubs need?

The most obvious choice would be Bellinger. The former MVP practically did it in 2023 and has reached that level previously in his career with the Dodgers. But he has an opt-out decision that is up in the air — the Cubs’ biggest question this offseason. So, for purposes of this exercise, we’re going to keep him out of the list.

Isaac Paredes

Acquired in a trade at the deadline from Tampa Bay, Paredes is the one player on the Cubs roster with a proven track record that can help a team outperform expectations.

In 2023, the third baseman put up numbers similar to Bellinger — .250/.352/.488 (.840 OPS), 31 home runs, 98 RBI, 136 wRC+ and a 4.3 fWAR. His performance was down this year; he had a .739 OPS and a .633 OPS with the Cubs, but the Cubs are hopeful the post-trade effect and comfort will help him return to the offensive player he was in Tampa Bay.

He showed flashes of that, too.

Paredes’ home-road splits were drastic. In 116 plate appearances away from Wrigley Field, the 25-year-old hit .333 with a .911 OPS. At the Friendly Confines, he hit .105 with a .317 OPS. A pull-heavy approach, coupled with difficult hitting conditions didn’t help, but there’s also no reason to think he’ll hit that poorly at home over a full season in 2025.

“I feel exactly the same as I felt on the day we traded for him, which is, he’s a really good player. He’s a really gifted hitter,” Hoyer said. “There’s no reason to think that he’s not going to continue to be the really good offensive player that he’s been in Tampa.”

Seiya Suzuki

Suzuki might be the most obvious choice on this list.

His offensive numbers are approaching an elite level — .283/.366/.482 (.848 OPS), 138 wRC+, 21 home runs and 73 RBI. But injuries limited him to just 132 games and he’s struggled to stay healthy for a full season in his 3-year MLB career.

Over the last two seasons, Suzuki has a 133 wRC+, the 19th-best mark among qualified hitters, above players like José Ramírez, Francisco Lindor and Kyle Schwarber. But each of those three has played at least 40 games more than Suzuki over the last two years.

Health is a key factor for Suzuki. If he can stay healthy and perform, that’s a game-changing bat that can help the Cubs break past the 83-win plateau.

Pete Crow-Armstrong

The rookie center fielder easily could be a 5-WAR player at the end of 2025 with the bulk of it coming from his elite, Gold Glove-caliber defense at a premier position. He was a 2.7 fWAR player in 2024, a remarkable number given his extreme struggles at the plate early in the season, coupled with the fact that he played in just 123 games.

If he’s going to be that type of game-changing player, you have to believe the swing adjustments he made mid-season are real — and that there’s even more to unlock offensively. Over his final 57 games (215 plate appearances), he slashed .289/.336/.469 (.806 OPS) with 7 home runs and 9 stolen bases. That level of production would have him hitting higher in the lineup and over a 600-plate-appearance sample would equate to nearly a 20-20 season.

“I mean, he showed what he can be in the second half of the season,” Hoyer said. “I thought Pete’s development was, like I said, really high on the list of our top things this year. And couldn’t be more excited about him being a center fielder going forward.”

[WATCH: Hoyer impressed with rookie seasons from Crow-Armstrong, Busch]

Michael Busch

At times in 2024, the rookie first baseman carried the Cubs offense. For the first time since trading away Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs look to have found a solution at first base. In his first major league season, Busch clubbed 21 home runs, posted a .775 OPS and had a 119 wRC+. He showcased why the Cubs were willing to part with a top prospect (lefty pitcher Jackson Ferris) for him.

Busch, like Crow-Armstrong, could have another level in him offensively. He has a strong eye — he walked at an 11.1% clip, tied for the 19th-best mark among qualified hitters. But he also struck out at a 28.6% clip, which was 11th-highest. Cutting down on the strikeouts, which are not uncommon for young players, would help unlock that new offensive level.

Like Paredes, Busch had drastic road splits, too. He was a .280/.366/.489 (.855 OPS) hitter on the road and a .211/.299/.384 (.683 OPS) hitter at Wrigley Field.

His defense is no slouch, either. He really improved at first base — which he hadn’t really played since college.

“I think he’s gonna win Gold Gloves at first. I think he was outstanding over there,” Hoyer said. “I think that, if you actually look at his numbers, he probably even had an even better year than it appears when you factor in the park factors and everything.”