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Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer

Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs have been one of the biggest winners of the MLB offseason so far.

After a slow start to the offseason that made fans nervous about the team being passive again, the front office made two big moves in back-to-back succession.

First, the Cubs made a big trade with the Miami Marlins to acquire starting pitcher Edward Cabrera. They had to give up top prospect Owen Caissie to make that deal happen, but Cabrera will have a chance to become a front-line starter in Chicago.

Next up, the Cubs were able to make a huge splash in MLB free agency. Hoyer and company agreed to a massive five-year, $175 million contract with veteran star free agent third baseman Alex Bregman.

Needless to say, Chicago is feeling very good about where it stands heading towards the 2026 season.

Chicago Cubs Lose Catcher to Rival Milwaukee Brewers

One of the difficult decisions of the offseason came regarding 30-year-old catcher Reese McGuire.

During the 2025 MLB season, McGuire played a role for the Cubs. He appeared in 44 games for the team, hitting nine home runs to go along with 24 RBI and a slash line of .226/.245/.444.

McGuire isn’t to be mixed up with being a star. However, he was a quality role player who was always ready when called upon. Chicago no longer has him on the roster.

In fact, McGuire now plays for one of the Cubs’ biggest rivals. He agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers that includes an invite to spring training, which will give him a chance to compete for a spot on the big league roster.

Known for his defense, McGuire has found ways to keep himself in the Major Leagues. He’ll look to do that playing against Chicago during the 2026 MLB season.

Cubs Fans Have a Lot to Be Excited About

Heading into the upcoming year, there are a lot of reasons to think that the Cubs could be a legitimate World Series contender.

This season, Chicago will feature an extremely talented starting rotation. That rotation will be headlined by Shota Imanaga, Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Jameson Taillon. Justin Steele will also be ready to return to the field at some point in 2026.

As for the lineup, the Cubs will have a team capable of putting up runs in bunches. Even though they lost superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker in free agency, Chicago has plenty of threats at the plate.

Names like Michael Busch at first base, Alex Bregman at third base, Ian Happ in left field, Seiya Suzuki in right field, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field, Nico Hoerner at second base, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, and likely Moises Ballesteros at designated hitter should provide plenty of offense.

It will be interesting to see how Chicago fares throughout the 2026 season. On paper, the Cubs look like a potential contender, but they’ll need to live up to their full potential on the field.

Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey