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Looking ahead to next season, the Chicago Cubs are pretty locked in around the diamond.
Michael Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Dansby Swanson (SS), and Isaac Paredes (3B) are all young, under contract, and/or positive value players. In the outfield, you have Ian Happ coming off his best season in left, Pete Crow-Armstrong emerging as a star in center, and either Cody Bellinger (if he opts in) or Seiya Suzuki (if Bellinger opts out) for right field. There’s obvious room to add at catcher and possibly DH/right field, depending on what happens with some other players. But the team more or less has “starters” at almost every position. And that’s without mentioning the five top-100 positional prospects at Triple-A (with a sixth at Double-A …).
Long story, short: Unless there’s a crowd-reducing, talent-consolidating trade in the works (I hope there is!), the Cubs’ flexibility to add positional talent in free agency is going to be limited. But the rotation? That’s a very different story. And according to the latest reports, it’s exactly where and how the Cubs plan to add this offseason.
Cubs 2025 Rotation Plans
As of now, you can lock in Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and probably also Javier Assad, especially after reading some of Craig Counsell’s recent, complimentary comments on his fifth starter. And the Cubs should have nice depth stashed in the bullpen and/or Triple-A behind that group (Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski, Jordan Wicks, Cade Horton, Brandon Birdsell). But there’s (1) always room to add to the rotation and (2) a pretty clear need for another top of the rotation arm, in my opinion.
Enter Patrick Mooney, who has now twice in two weeks made it clear that the Cubs are going to pursue starting pitchers this offseason, with an apparent emphasis on the front of the rotation:
- September 15: “The Cubs will explore ways to upgrade their rotation and leverage the teamโs pitching infrastructure. That could mean making a long-term commitment to an All-Star such as Max Fried. It could involve offering a big one-year deal to a pitcher looking to prove heโs healthy and reestablish his high-end value, perhaps someone like Walker Buehler.”
- September 23: “The Cubs are planning to add an established starting pitcher…Thereโs ample room for a free agent who would be expected to make 30 starts and could be trusted in a playoff game.”
Mooney goes on to say that the Cubs won’t be early favorites to do a top-of-the-market deal with Corbin Burnes (we did a deep dive on him as a Cubs target right here) or Blake Snell, but does seem to imply that it’s not out of the question. Either way, name-checking players like Max Fried and identifying “established starters” who “could be trusted in a playoff game” certainly seems to imply efforts that lean towards the front-of-the-rotation more than a mid-to-back-end starter type. I am extrapolating there, obviously, but I think I’m doing so fairly.
Of course, free agency won’t be the Cubs’ only avenue to add a starter this winter. MLB Trade Rumors picked up this thread to remind folks of the loaded group of potential trade candidates, from Garrett Crochet to the deep collection of eminently available starters in Miami and Tampa Bay.
The bottom line here? If the Cubs are going to make a splash this offseason, be it free agency or trade, it seems pretty likely the front of the rotation could be the spot (based on some of the early reporting and just logic-ing your way around the diamond). We’ll dive deeper into their many options once the season comes to an end. But for now, keep this in mind.