Recently, I noted that I had no doubt that Cody Bellinger would opt into his deal with the Chicago Cubs. With him officially opting in Saturday morning, locking himself into a $27.5 million payday in 2025, team President Jed Hoyer now has a better idea of how much the Cubs’ payroll already sits at heading into next season.
With Bellinger out of the way, the most significant question remains: How much money will Chairman Tom Ricketts allocate towards free agency in what could be Hoyer’s last year with the team if he doesn’t deliver a postseason berth to Chicago next year? Here are three moves the Cubs must make to capitalize after learning of Bellinger’s decision to opt in.
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Are the Cubs still one hitter short of a strong lineup? At least. They finished seventh in the NL in runs per game in 2024, but it’s not a fluke that outside of Arizona, every NL team ahead of the Cubs in RPG was playoff a team.
The problem is, there aren’t any open spots to play anybody on the major league roster, outside of maybe catcher, barring a blockbuster trade that could see an existing member of the Cubs be packaged with a top prospect in return for an upgrade to the lineup. Still, with the Cubs among the league leaders in blown saves in 2024, expect the team to add a new closer to the bullpen for 2025 and beyond.
Top candidates for the job include Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen, and Kirby Yates. Any of these names would upgrade the closer-by-committee approach the Cubs have been forced to utilize, plaguing their playoff chances.
2. Cubs can create a three-headed monster starting rotation
The starting rotation for the Cubs in 2024 was the key reason the team finished with an above .500 record. Justin Steele continued his usual dominance, and Shota Imanaga was the steal of last year’s offseason. The Cubs were also gifted a spectacular season from Jameson Taillon, who will be an outlier for the team in 2025, given the “Life is a box of chocolates” motto he has adopted over the past few seasons.
The Cubs would be ill-advised to assume the same success is on the horizon for Taillon in 2025. Instead of rolling the dice, they should lock in another key starter to give themselves a higher chance of success, and if Taillon plays to his upside, it will provide the team with one of the best rotations in baseball.
Two players I would love to see the Cubs heavily pursue are Max Fried and Corbin Burnes. Fried has been dominant in his own right throughout his career. Moreover, the Cubs may have an inside track to Burnes if they pony up the funds, given the long-standing relationship between him and Cubs skipper Craig Counsell.
According to MLB Pipeline, the Cubs have eight top-100 prospects. If Jed Hoyer is on his way out if the Cubs don’t reach the postseason next year, then don’t be surprised to see him finally get aggressive and trade away some valuable assets he has stockpiled in recent years.
As mentioned above, there aren’t any open spots in the lineup for free agents or prospects. You’re essentially blocked at every position this coming year, especially if the Cubs roll with top prospect Moises Ballesteros at catcher, and it makes sense to start moving these guys to acquire major league talent further.
Where the Cubs don’t have the same amount of revenue to spend as the other big market clubs like the Dodgers or Mets, the team does have the upper hand against any team in the trade market. I expect the Cubs to pull off a blockbuster deal in the winter, with the return to Chicago being a pitcher, unless they get really creative and upgrade the lineup by trading from the current roster and attaching a top prospect in a deal. Either way, expect prospects to be moved this offseason, as Hoyer has nothing to lose.
