Yes, I can almost guarantee we will still be adding a starting pitcher this offseason
*** Official 2025 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter Cyforce
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I would guess the Cubs have about $50M remaining to spend this offseason.
And that will be spent on 1 SP, 4 bullpen arms, and a decent bat.
And that will be spent on 1 SP, 4 bullpen arms, and a decent bat.
50M would put them right at the luxury tax number which they won't do since leave space for in season moves.
There is no chance I believe they will spend on a TOR pitcher or even MOR unless they get them on a discount or 1 year deal.
They'll sign BOR starters for more money then they should instead of pooling it together to get a better player.
Yep. I'm not buying the hype again. I'm not buying what they're feeding Levine.
Jed's hands are unnecessarily tied but he's also so risk averse and obsessed with 'value' and 'market efficiency' and 'margins' that he'll never actually pull the trigger on a deal with any real length or risk even if Tommy okays the money.
It's why Dansby was the perfect deal for him, even if the bat regresses with the way he takes care of his body he's going to be a plus SS which makes his floor 3 WAR which is still value at $27M.
I love Dansby but there's no way on earth he should be your highest paid player. He's 4th or 5th on a true contender.
This off-season he's going to sign Michael King because his injury history is going to make a shorter term deal possible. Let's say 4/$80M. He'll put together a bullpen for $15M and one of those signings will be an old guy that you'll end up having to dump in June. He'll sign a bench piece for $4M. He'll say he's saving $12M for the deadline and then get scared off by the prospect cost and not actually make any significant deals and then tell us that Steele is like adding an ace.
Opening Day:
Busch 1B
Hoerner 2B
Suzuki RF
Kelly C
Happ LF
Swanson SS
PCA CF
Ballesteros DH
Shaw 3B
Jed's hands are unnecessarily tied but he's also so risk averse and obsessed with 'value' and 'market efficiency' and 'margins' that he'll never actually pull the trigger on a deal with any real length or risk even if Tommy okays the money.
It's why Dansby was the perfect deal for him, even if the bat regresses with the way he takes care of his body he's going to be a plus SS which makes his floor 3 WAR which is still value at $27M.
I love Dansby but there's no way on earth he should be your highest paid player. He's 4th or 5th on a true contender.
This off-season he's going to sign Michael King because his injury history is going to make a shorter term deal possible. Let's say 4/$80M. He'll put together a bullpen for $15M and one of those signings will be an old guy that you'll end up having to dump in June. He'll sign a bench piece for $4M. He'll say he's saving $12M for the deadline and then get scared off by the prospect cost and not actually make any significant deals and then tell us that Steele is like adding an ace.
Opening Day:
Busch 1B
Hoerner 2B
Suzuki RF
Kelly C
Happ LF
Swanson SS
PCA CF
Ballesteros DH
Shaw 3B
Keller did a hell of a job, I wish we could keep him but he earned a big paycheck. Happy for him.
Yeah that’s going to be it, really not a lot of room for anything else in reality.
I understand that logic based on past performance.
But Brown is 26 years old, still relatively young (only 2 years older than Horton). If I were Cubs front office and coaches I'd do everything to develop Brown's pitch repertoire over the winter to be a starter. Then based on spring training results, a decision can be made to move him to relief.
In part Ben has to be committed to being a reliever vs. starter. And feel he has been given every chance to earn a starting job going into 2026. Financially, starters get paid and relievers get the scraps.
Also, his trade value is higher if the Cubs go down the route of adding a 3rd pitch and work on other weaknesses even if he gets squeezed out of the rotation.
Entirely possible - people I think have sources seem to believe the first tier of the luxury tax won’t be much of a concern this year as the books are pretty wiped clean after 2026.
Tom and ownership have done nothing to keep people from thinking they’ll spend, so I don’t blame anyone at all if they’re skeptical the Cubs would go around $240-250M towards the tax.
That lineup is definitely not beating Milwaukee for the Central.
Brown is probably at the point they just need to commit to him being a reliever and work on another pitch so he can just let loose on the fastball for an inning or 2. They did this with Palencia a few years back when he originally was a starter and it worked out pretty well. Brown just doesn't have enough pitches let alone the control to get through a lineup 2 or 3 times. Guys just sit on the fastball or change because they know he can't throw anything else for strikes consistently. If he only has to come in to face 3-6 batters he can get away with throwing hard fastballs as long as he can locate them well. I was hoping he would pan out as a starter but I have a feeling it's not going to happen based on the opportunities he's already had and the struggles he had.
Brown could use an effective 3rd pitch. But IMO the biggest area he can improve is consistently locating his fastball.
His development over the winter is critical because he's cheap and I feel relievers who can pitch 2-3 inning stints are critical in not overworking the 8th/9th inning guys.
Shota is a legit starting pitcher granted the post injury 25 version was weak but there should be hope he can fix some issues and return to near 24 production. If we add one quality starter we’re going to have a ton of depth.
No surprises. McGuire probably played well enough to get an offer for a MLB backup job for 2026 and at very worst find a minor league deal with an organization that he'd be up quickly if their catcher depth is shaky.
www.bleachernation.com
Chicago Cubs Tender Decisions: McGuire, Morgan, Steele, Assad (UPDATE)
The Cubs are making their arbitration-level decisions today.
www.bleachernation.com
Yep not worth spending 2M for your 4th catcherNo surprises. McGuire probably played well enough to get an offer for a MLB backup job for 2026 and at very worst find a minor league deal with an organization that he'd be up quickly if their catcher depth is shaky.
Chicago Cubs Tender Decisions: McGuire, Morgan, Steele, Assad (UPDATE)
The Cubs are making their arbitration-level decisions today.
I'm excited for the Phil Maton deal; I'm guessing he'd slot in as a 7th inning or high leverage guy in the 5th/6th innings. Maybe like an Andrew Kittredge.
I'm projecting about $50M to spend this offseason with the Shota QO. My concern with the Maton deal is that might suck up 20% of our offseason funding.
I'm projecting about $50M to spend this offseason with the Shota QO. My concern with the Maton deal is that might suck up 20% of our offseason funding.
For those that didn't see it on the Bear's board (ooops)
Jonathan had a great year
Jonathan had a great year
Unfortunately I don't think Long has a path to big league playing time in Chicago with the talent blocking him right now. I would not be surprised if he is used as part of a trade at some point.
