Chicago Cubs Targeting Pitching, But Offense Has To Improve
So far, the Cubs’ rumored offseason targets have all been pitchers. They have been linked to varying degrees to starters and relievers on this winter’s free agent market, but on the offensive side, things have been quiet.
The Cubs already have a decent pitching staff; the rotation is anchored by Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, and based on Jameson Taillon’s improvement from 2023 to 2024, he should be considered a reliable mid-rotation piece for next season. After those three, there’s a solid crop of emerging young starters.
Every team can stand to bolster its rotation, but on paper at least, the Cubs are in good shape. The same can be said for the bullpen. That group faltered early in the season, but ended up being a strength of the team. By season’s end, they had a 3.81 ERA, good for 12th in baseball. Bullpens are much more volatile than starting rotations, but the Cubs also have a sturdy group of relievers.
The consistent issue for the Cubs in ‘24 was their offense. They scored the 12th-highest number of runs (736) last season, but that often came in bunches. During the team’s worst two month stretch, in May and June, they ranked 28th in the league in runs scored.
It seems obvious, then, that they would concentrate their efforts on improving the lineup. Especially when Juan Soto is available. The problem is, unless they make a trade, the Cubs’ offense is pretty much set. Other than at catcher, there is not a spot for someone new to get many at-bats. Even without Cody Bellinger choosing to stay in Chicago, pretty much every spot around the diamond is taken.
Complicating things further, the lineup has a few young players — namely Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong — who are ready to step in as full-timers. And with them, there are a few players — like Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson, and Seiya Suzuki — who have no-trade clauses.
That leaves a trade of some sort, and one that would have to involve dealing players from the major league roster. Whether that means trading to make room for a free agent signee or trading to improve at one of their defensive positions, the Cubs have to at least seriously consider an upgrade.
While it’s true that they finished in the top half of the league offensively, those two months in the first half of the season when they really struggled to score ultimately sunk their playoff chances. The Cubs’ front office should not assume that a similar stretch won’t happen again in 2025.
So what’s to be done?
The Cubs have a well-stocked farm system, which puts them in position to make a blockbuster trade if they want to. They’re not as highly-touted a group as the minor league corps that helped them win the 2016 World Series, but plenty good enough to swing something big if team president Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins want to go that route.
The talk coming from Hoyer at this point, however, does not suggest he plans to make any big swaps this winter.
“It is really nice to have that kind of depth. When you talk about farm systems, a lot of times they’re talking about guys in High A, Low A. It’s great to have that pipeline. But you’re talking about non-usable pieces in the big leagues. Our guys are rapidly becoming usable major-league depth,” he told reporters in San Antonio last week.
The key phrasing here is “usable major-league depth.” Hoyer said that in the context of outlining plans if Nico Hoerner isn’t ready to start the season because of forearm surgery, but describing the organization’s depth as “usable major-league ready” points to keeping their up-and-coming minor leaguers at this time. Both because they might be needed in April, and because they might be able to contribute if the offense struggles again next season.
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