Could Cubs' Seiya Suzuki carry postseason momentum through WBC for a hot start to 2026?

MESA, Ariz. — Seiya Suzuki, set to play center field for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic this spring, has a couple goals when facing his Cubs teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong and Team USA.

“I want to see Pete throw a helmet,” Suzuki said through Japanese interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And if he hits the ball to center field, I want to make sure I catch it and dance on it.”

The banter that characterized Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong’s home-run race last year has officially taken the international stage. And though the Cubs’ offense cooled in the second half after that long-ball battle helped power the Cubs to an impressive start, Suzuki went on a second tear down the stretch and into the playoffs.

When asked about that strong finish — which included five home runs in the last four games of the season and another one to open the postseason — Suzuki was far more interested in discussing ways he could improve.

“I wasn't satisfied with the season last year,” he said.

He zeroed in on his contact rate, which he wants to keep higher even when he’s hitting for slug. His batting average did drop to .245, as he launched 32 home runs, surpassing his previous career high by 11. And he said at times there was a disconnect between how his swing felt and what it looked like.

“I spent some time in the offseason trying to get better at those things,” Suzuki said. “Looking back, it's probably one of the best offseasons I’ve had.”

This is the last year of the five-year, $85 million contract Suzuki signed with the Cubs in 2022, when he transitioned from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to the United States and MLB. As of Monday, he said the Cubs had not initiated extension talks.

“Signing with the team, people expect something from me,” Suzuki said. “I felt like I haven't really reached those [expectations] yet. So I think I just need to continue to work on myself and make sure I can repay the team and the fans, and just go out and have a good season.”

When Suzuki first signed, the Cubs talked about him as a player the team could grow with, and vice versa. That’s how the first four years of his Cubs tenure have played out.

Last year, for the first time, the Cubs got to see Suzuki in an MLB postseason setting. He was one of the Cubs’ best offensive performers, along with Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner.

“He's such a talented hitter,” left fielder Ian Happ said of Suzuki. “His swing is beautiful, but his ability to just impact the baseball is really special. That's in there, and it's in there all the time. … He's a huge force for us in the lineup."

Now for the first time in his MLB career — after missing the 2023 WBC for an oblique injury — Suzuki is set to enter the regular season riding the momentum of a WBC run.

Team Japan, the reigning WBC champions, are expected to go far in the tournament. That’s not guaranteed to kick-start Suzuki’s season, but he proved in the playoffs last year that he has a knack for rising to the occasion in those kinds of atmospheres.

“It's just fun being in that mode,” manager Craig Counsell said. “So, that's why WBC is so attractive. October is like, just give me more — that's what everybody feels when you go through it. So that's why the guys love the WBC, because it gives them that if you can get to the right games.”

Though Suzuki’s usual position is right field, he confirmed that be sliding over to center for Team Japan. To prepare, he's set to play center field for the Cubs on Friday and Sunday, as the team opens Cactus League play, before leaving next Monday to join his national team.

“No worries there,” Suzuki said. “I feel like I've been moving well. That’s something I worked on in the off season. And getting those reps in, I think that's going to be beneficial for me in the season too.”

Then he added with a grin: “If Pete wants an off day or something, that's my chance to play center field.”