Monday morning Cubs thoughts: Hendricks’ return in ’23 is most important

It’s Monday morning, folks, so that means we’re back with a new set of Cubs thoughts.

The Cubs still haven’t lost a series since dropping all three in St. Louis to start the month, and they now welcome those same Cardinals to Wrigley Field for a five-game set before heading up to Milwaukee for three over the weekend.

It’s one of those weeks where the Cubs will go up agains the class of the National League Central. Yes, they’re pretty far out of the playoff picture, but these next eight games will be helpful in seeing how they stack up with their biggest rivals. And beyond that, these next few weeks will also be important in seeing if one of their most important rotation pieces will be able to help again this season. We’ve got just over six weeks left in the season, and I have some thoughts on how the rest of the year plus the offseason could play out.

So, let’s get right into it. Here are your newest Cubs thoughts for Monday morning.