My Cubs Offseason Predictions

The Cubs have made a couple of moves so far this offseason: brought Shota Imanaga back on a 1-year deal, exercised the option on Colin Rea, sent Andrew Kittredge back to Baltimore and added a few minor leagues to the 40-man roster to shield them from the Rule 5 draft. Here are my thoughts on what else I think they will do.

Acquire another starting pitcher

Well, duh. Everyone knows this is their top priority. Michael King is the name that has come up most often, and while he has a qualifying offer attached, that might actually help the Cubs with his overall price tag, as it might scare away other teams who don’t want to lose the draft pick. There are several other names out there in free agency that would be seen as an upgrade to the rotation. I think the Cubs will sign exactly one of them.

There has also been speculation that if the Cubs don’t sign a free agent, they could go after a controllable starter on the trade market. They should have more leverage now than they had at the trade deadline, as the free agent route gives them an avenue they did not have mid-season. But the prices being asked for Gore, Cabrera and others may still be too high.

Acquire a hitter to soften the loss of Kyle Tucker

Kyle Tucker is gone — we all know this. And replacing him with some mix of Ballesteros, Cassie and Alcantara would be a huge step down in production for a team that probably needs to improve to get ahead of the Brewers and Reds in the NL Central.

There are two spots they could try to improve from an offensive perspective, as they really seem set at LF, CF, SS, 2B, 1B and C: Third Base and Right Field/Designated hitter.

If they go the third base route: Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez and Munetaka Murekami are the names I think they’d be interested in. They were outbid on Bregman last season, and I think it could be the same this offseason. Murekami could be a good fit, as he could play some first and DH against lefties, with Shaw taking over at third. Shaw would be the new utility infielder, platooning against lefties and getting spot starts against righties.

The other option is leaving Shaw as the everyday third baseman, and finding a DH/RF type that can provide more offensive production. If the Cubs are serious about keeping Caissie/Ballesteros and Alcantara, this might provide a bridge to 2027, when Happ and Suzuki might be gone. Or the opportunity to use one or more of them in a trade.

Honestly, I’m not sure which way this will go. My inclination is that the Cubs try for a third baseman, and hope that Caissie or Ballesteros can fit into the RF/DH role. Regardless, any combination will be a step down from Tucker, so I would expect some regression in the offense in 2025.

If they don’t get a third baseman, they will need to find a utility infielder somewhere to replace Willi Castro.

Sign 2 or 3 Bullpen arms – none being very expensive

The name Pete Fairbanks has come up, but I’m not sure it is realistic. The Cubs have done a good job of finding cheap arms and making them work – and I don’t see them deviating from that strategy. Their most expensive relief pitcher last year – Ryan Pressly – was one of their biggest failures. I don’t think they will be in the mix for Diaz or Devin Williams – or even Fairbanks.

I see them shopping for bargain arms late in the offseason. Maybe they bring back Thielbar or Pomeranz, but Brad Keller probably priced himself out of a reunion with the Cubs by having such an amazing season while he is still relatively young. I see him catching on as a closer or starter somewhere else.

I also see the Cubs bringing in a few guys on minor league contracts as lottery tickets, similar to Keller situation last year. They also got a couple of good months out of Chris Flexen by going this route. Plus they will work the waiver wire to find castoffs like Pomeranz, Cabrera and Cosgrove (and Miller and Lopez the previous year) or make minor trades with players that other teams don’t have room for, similar to how they got Ryan Brasier. Some of these acquisitions will be failures, but if they can hit on one or two, it is a very cheap way to build a decent bullpen.

They do need to hope that Palencia can avoid a regression, that Colin Rea does not need to step into the rotation due to injury. And and that one, two or three of Hodge, Brown, Assad, Wicks, Little, Martin, Morgan, Hollowell, Roberts and/or Neely can be an effective MLB reliever.

Fill out the roster with veterans on minor league deals

They will need some depth in the infield and outfield, and should bring in several players who can be on the Spring Training roster. A veteran catcher to replace Reese McGuire, to cover for an Amaya or Kelly injury is necessary.

Overall, this plan is not very sexy, but it’s what I would expect. Perhaps the Cubs will surprise me, and invest more than I expect, but I would doubt it. Still, I think they can be competitive next season.