The Chicago Cubs are heading into the offseason with a clear message from Jed Hoyer: the pitching staff needs real work.
Hoyer said as much at his season-ending press conference, and the shape of the roster makes the assignment obvious. Most of the starting rotation is expected to look different next season, and there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
Will Justin Steele and Cade Horton come back and make an immediate impact? Will the Cubs bring back Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, and Clay Holmes?
What can they expect from Edward Cabrera?
Even if those answers break the Cubs’ way, they still may not have the one thing every contender wants at the top of the rotation. Horton has the chance to grow into that role, but the expectation is that he’ll ease back toward the high level he showed before the injury rather than instantly become a finished product. That is why Tarik Skubal has to be part of the conversation.
Skubal was rumored to be available at the deadline, and he was dealt to the Dodgers. He’s been described as arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and he would instantly change the ceiling of this team.
The Cubs have plenty of cap space, which makes the idea at least plausible if they’re willing to enter a serious bidding war. A year after the Cubs signed Alex Bregman and saw that move pay off, landing Skubal would push them into immediate World Series contention.
A rotation built around Skubal and Horton, with Steele, Gausman, and Holmes behind them, is the kind of scenario Cubs fans can dream on.
The other glaring issue was the bullpen, where the Cubs never found much stability. Hoyer took his usual approach, throwing a lot of darts at the board, but the results were uneven at best. Holby Milner, Phil Maton, Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey, Shelby Miller, and others either spent most of the season on the injured list or couldn’t deliver when it counted.
Hoyer acknowledged that the bullpen problems were on him, but the bigger question is whether he’ll actually take a different path this winter. If the Cubs want the relief corps to be a strength, they need more than reclamation projects and short-term bets.
Names like Raisel Iglesias of the Atlanta Braves, Pete Fairbanks of the Miami Marlins, and A.J. Minter of the Minnesota Twins fit the type of impact addition the Cubs should be chasing.
Catching also deserves attention, and the Cubs may need to decide whether to keep Carson Kelly in the fold. Kelly has a mutual option, but it’s unclear whether the team will pay what it takes to retain him. The position works best when a club has multiple trustworthy options, and the 2016 Cubs are the model here: Miguel Montero as the veteran left-handed bat, Willson Contreras as the rising talent, and David Ross as the steady leader.
That kind of balance is what Chicago should try to recreate. Re-signing Kelly and bringing up top prospect Owen Ayers would give the Cubs a group that includes Kelly, Ayers, and Amaya, and that would add the depth they need. If Kelly doesn’t return, the Cubs could look elsewhere for an upgrade, with Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson and Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers mentioned as possibilities.
In Other News...
Cubs Lose Another Pitching Depth Option After Brief Uneven Stint
Corbin Martin is one of six minor league players who have elected free agency after finishing the season on outright assignments, a move that lets them reach the market earlier than the usual major league free-agent timeline. For the Cubs, it means another pitching depth name is on the move after a brief, uneven stint in the organization, a familiar kind of churn at this time of year as clubs sort through the back end of the roster.
Martin had been part of a group that included players with recent designation-for-assignment history and varying minor league resumes, underscoring how quickly those depth pieces can cycle through an organization. For Chicago, the timing matters because these are the kinds of arms teams often hope to keep around as insurance, but once a player chooses free agency, the Cubs have to look elsewhere for that same low-cost rotation and bullpen cushion. [Read more 🡒]
Ian Happ Just Sounded Like A Cub Saying Goodbye
Ian Happs recent comments carried the kind of weight that gets attention in Chicago, because they sounded like a player who understands the business side of the game and what free agency can mean for a longtime Cub. He spoke with appreciation for his time in the organization while also acknowledging that his run with the team may be nearing its end, which is not usually the tone of a player headed into an offseason of uncertainty.
Happ is set to hit free agency this winter, and there has been at least some indication he could be open to a team-friendly arrangement if it keeps him on the North Side. The Cubs, for their part, have had interest in bringing him back and could envision a platoon role, which leaves just enough room for a return, even if the conversation around it already feels a little like a goodbye. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Rotation Need Just Ran Into A Brutal Tarik Skubal Reality
The Cubs know the rotation could use another impact arm, but the market may be about to make that search a lot tougher. Tarik Skubal is expected to land at the top of the free-agent pitching class, with Jeff Passan reporting that his next deal could climb to a level that would reshape the entire market. For a Chicago team trying to balance ambition with roster-building realities, that kind of price tag immediately turns a dream fit into more of a luxury than a plan.
Chicago is not expected to seriously chase Skubal, and age is part of the reason the fit looks so difficult. Instead, the Cubs are more likely to keep working through other starting-pitcher options once free agency opens, hoping to find a deal that brings real rotation help without forcing them into the kind of bidding war that only a handful of clubs can afford. [Read more 🡒]