What needs do the Cubs have in the MLB offseason?

After strengthening their rotation and announcing their plans with Cody Bellinger, the Cubs begin the MLB offseason as one of the most active teams

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In the first weeks of free agency in MLBthe Chicago Cubs have stood out along with the two rosters of Los Angeles, the Dodgers and Angels, as the ninth ones that lead the market in terms of movements.

The team signed left-handed starter Matthew Boyd on Monday morning, adding another arm to its starting corps currently comprised of the likes of Japanese ace Shota Imanaga and Mexican Javier Assad. Boyd gives Chicago an important comfort – a left-handed arm – but they also paid $29 million to a player who three times in his career has ended with more than 10 losses in the season.

The Cubs appear comfortable with their offense given that one of the most talked-about moves of their offseason will be to see what they can get for one of their big stars who is available for trade. That said, these are the most important priorities the team set for 2025:

Sign one more opener

Boyd, 33, is a bet at the bottom of the rotation. The Cubs hope to receive the player who had a 2.72 earned run percentage with the Cleveland Guardians last year, and not the one who accumulated 5.45 in 2023 with the Detroit Tigers. Of course, Boyd is a proven power pitcher: He struck out 238 batters in 2019, when he was in his first stint with Detroit.

As previously mentioned, the Cubs have Imanaga and Justin Steele at the front of their rotation, with others like Assad, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown fighting for a spot in the starting five – Boyd is added to that group, and while it seems Since there is already an abundance of options, the Cubs are committed to signing someone else.

According to the team itself, the idea is not to add much contract money to the payroll in 2025, so aces like Roki Sasaki, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried seem to be out of the range of possibilities for the Cubs. But there is a large market for players in the next price range with whom they could negotiate. Dodgers pair Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler loom as options, as well as Kyle Gibson, Patrick Sandoval and Shane Bieber.

There are also other ways Chicago can acquire a viable pitcher, and it has to do with their next priority in free agency for next season…

Trade Cody Bellinger

Bellinger hit .266/18/78 in 2024, after a debut season with the Cubs in which he had revived his career, with a line of .307/26/97 that far exceeded what he had done in his last season with the Dodgers. But the diminished production in 2024 didn’t give Cubs management much confidence, so now the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year is being offered to other teams.

According to reports, the Toronto Blue Jays have shown interest in Bellinger, although part of the agreement depends on how much money from his contract the Canadians agree to take. Bellinger has an option for 2025 in which he would earn $25 million and it is reported that the player has already activated it, after free agency projections do not have him earning as much if he signs a new contract.

The question is: How much can they get for it? A package of prospects would be the ideal option, but the cost of Bellinger and the fact that Chicago ends up absorbing part of his salary does not allow us to think that the Cubs could ask for any of Toronto’s best young players in the trade.

Regardless of whoever arrives, he probably won’t be an immediate impact player, but rather a bet on the future, which leaves the Cubs with an important need that they will seek to satisfy in the coming months.

Continue strengthening the bullpen

Jed Hoyerthe president of the Cubs, has made it clear that the team feels comfortable with its lineup and with the players who can come up from the minor leagues in 2025 to give the club what it needs to compete offensively. Which means Chicago will be looking to sign relievers as their next priority.

Cleveland recently traded Eli Morgan to Chicago, and the Cubs acquired former Milwaukee Brewers Rob Zastryzny. The latter could have another former teammate in Chicago if Hoyer manages to land Devin Williams, the talented closer whose contract option was declined by Wisconsin after the playoffs.

Williams missed three months last season due to back fractures, and allowed four runs in the Brewers-Mets series decider last postseason, sealing his fate in Milwaukee. If not him, the Cubs would opt for one of the star relievers currently available.

Tanner Scott, who finished the season in San Diego, is a great option, as is former Yankees closer Clay Holmes. Jordan Romano and Kyle Finnegan, both All-Stars at some point in their careers, are also available. Aroldis Chapman, former Cubs player, could return after being in Pittsburgh as his last club.