Dusty Kelly, Chicago Cubs hitting coach, didn’t give an encouraging update on where this lineup currently stands.

The Chicago Cubs entered the offseason with a need to re-sign Cody Bellinger or find someone who could replace his production.

There weren’t many players on the market who could do what Bellinger does, but a replacement was needed.

Juan Soto was on the trade block and Shohei Ohtani was a free agent.

Many believed early in the offseason that the Cubs had a chance to land one of them in an effort to bring a star to a city that’s been desperate for one.

Instead, Soto was traded to the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Ohtani. The two biggest markets in baseball didn’t just try to get a deal done, they made sure that they’d land the stars they wanted.

Chicago’s front office should take note.

With Spring Training starting and the regular season about a month away, the Cubs’ offense is significantly worse than last season.

Bellinger hasn’t re-signed, Matt Chapman doesn’t appear to be walking through the door, and Jeimer Candelario left in free agency.

There’s still time to land one of them the remaining free agents, and that would change the perspective of the offseason, but as currently situated, this offseason was inexcusable.

What was the point of making Craig Counsell the highest-paid manager in baseball?

Was it to give him another average team like the Milwaukee Brewers did and lose in the early rounds of the playoffs every season?

Recent comments from Dustin Kelly, Chicago’s hitting coach, weren’t encouraging on the Bellinger front.

He had the following to say about the offense without the former MVP, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

“There’s plenty of guys (here) to fill in some of that power stuff. It’s not like we’re out there searching for 26 more home runs, right? It doesn’t work like that. When you go into the offseason, you’re not adding those up. (Bellinger) was a big part of that lineup. But we have enough guys that are in this group who could surprise us.”

Entering the offseason, the plan wasn’t to have guys “surprise us.”

The plan was for the Cubs to make moves that could win them a World Series.

That hasn’t happened, and from what Kelly has to say, it doesn’t sound like it will in the near future.