So Far, the Winter Meetings Have Raised as Many Cubs Questions as They've Answered

[Matthew Trueblood]

The MLB Winter Meetings are bringing the hot stove to a full boil now, but as the temperature and the pressure rise, the Cubs seem to be staying cool—maybe too cool. Maybe frozen.

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

We got some newfound clarity about the options box the Cubs are trying to unpack this winter on Tuesday—but all we learned was that they enjoy no real clarity or simplicity at all. Seiya Suzuki's agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, spoke to reporters and revealed that the team has already approached Suzuki with a list of teams, trying to ascertain to which of them he would accept a trade. The impetus for this bizarre exploration process, it turns out, is that Suzuki does not want to be an everyday designated hitter, which is the role in which he finished 2024 and for which he would project most neatly on the 2025 Cubs right now.

To accommodate Suzuki without trading away a big bat, the team would have to put him back in right field and turn Cody Bellinger into a full-time DH, which would hurt the defense and could dampen the team's offensive production, as well. That, we can now see, is why the team has seemed so focused on trading Bellinger all winter, and why the last week has brought reports that they're considering parting with Suzuki instead. They aren't delusional. They know they need to improve their offense, not weaken it by trading away one of their best bats without adding someone in exchange. But the challenge of executing this difficult maneuver—of either trading Bellinger for positive value and acquiring a DH who can outhit him, or dealing Suzuki and finding anyone to deliver value commensurate with his superb bat, all without exceeding a budget that provides flexibility but is far from limitless—seems to have paralyzed them.

They're pursuing huge ideas, like acquiring Houston's Kyle Tucker. They might also have their eyes on other targets, too, like Angels outfielder Taylor Ward (rumored to be part of a deal that didn't get completed Tuesday but might still be in progress) or one of the Rays' increasingly highly-paid veteran infielders, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz. The problem is, these big ideas and the complicated series of options they need to evaluate are costing them time—and a sudden abundance of moves throughout the rest of the league is making that time costly.

Max Fried signed with the Yankees Tuesday evening, for a price the Cubs were never going to match. Later, though, Nathan Eovaldi agreed to a three-year deal with the Rangers that the Cubs (once mentioned as a possible destination for Eovaldi) might have found much more palatable. The Guardians traded second baseman Andrés Giménez to Toronto, alleviating payroll pressure that would have made it easier to strike a deal with them for first baseman Josh Naylor. The Marlins swapped right-handed slugger Jake Burger to Texas, removing one option the Cubs might have pursued to assure themselves of sufficient power on the infield corners and platoon with Michael Busch.

In most cases, you can't afford to kick yourself over every move made without you. The Cubs, as they so often have under Hoyer, are being excruciatingly patient, trying to work the right move and resisting any sense of panic about their ability to work one at all. Right now, though, understanding the pickle they landed in when Bellinger opted in for 2025 and Suzuki adopted this stance about his position and usage, the team needs to find a decisive strike, and soon. As alternative paths to the improvement they need in all four departments of the roster—starting lineup, bench, starting rotation, and bullpen—are foreclosed by other teams and players making their committal choices, the difficulty of doing enough to avoid another season of maddening averageness climbs. Wednesday will be pivotal for the Cubs. If the action slows down again league-wide, they can afford to take a deep breath and continue surveying options. They need to keep some suboptimal but appealing choices ready, though, because if a certain sequence of things unfolds on the final day of the Winter Meetings, they might soon be fighting their way out of a tough corner.

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[CubinNY]

I think they may be lining up the ducks. If we know anything about Jed it's that he's deliberate. 

I want the President/functioning GM to be bolder and take big swings at winning. Jed is far more measured. Given the boundaries he has to work under, it makes sense, but "goodenough" is not good enough most of the time. 

[Bertz]

I'm curious how much of this trade discussion is either/or and how much is in parallel. 

At this point it seems pretty clear that the team wants to make a big trade.  It might be more Luis Castillo than Garret Crochet, but I'm at this point totally expecting a trade for someone fun.  There's too much smoke from too many corners for it to feel artificial or limited to a handful of scenarios.

All of the names we've heard besides Tucker have been starting pitchers.  What I'm really wondering is if the plan is 

A) One big trade, and that'll probably be a pitcher for logistical reasons but if the right hitter opportunity presents itself then cool

B) One big trade on each side of the ball

C) There’s a certain amount of prospect capital they're comfortable selling, or conversely a certain number of wins they're intent on buying, and TBD what that looks like

The reason I wonder is because if we're in scenario A, yeah there probably needs to be some real  urgency to get a deal over the finish line.  If it's B or C, free agency is clearly just being used for supplemental additions, and there is no urgency.  With Kelly locked down, you can easily wait until MLK day to go shopping for relief and bench help.  It's not an issue at all.

[Brock Beauchamp]

37 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I think they may be lining up the ducks. If we know anything about Jed it's that he's deliberate. 

I want the President/functioning GM to be bolder and take big swings at winning. Jed is far more measured. Given the boundaries he has to work under, it makes sense, but "goodenough" is not good enough most of the time. 

As everyone here is aware, I'm relatively new to being embedded with Cubs news. After 18-ish months, I'm continually surprised by how boring they are.

[Rcal10]

23 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I'm curious how much of this trade discussion is either/or and how much is in parallel. 

At this point it seems pretty clear that the team wants to make a big trade.  It might be more Luis Castillo than Garret Crochet, but I'm at this point totally expecting a trade for someone fun.  There's too much smoke from too many corners for it to feel artificial or limited to a handful of scenarios.

All of the names we've heard besides Tucker have been starting pitchers.  What I'm really wondering is if the plan is 

A) One big trade, and that'll probably be a pitcher for logistical reasons but if the right hitter opportunity presents itself then cool

B) One big trade on each side of the ball

C) There’s a certain amount of prospect capital they're comfortable selling, or conversely a certain number of wins they're intent on buying, and TBD what that looks like

The reason I wonder is because if we're in scenario A, yeah there probably needs to be some real  urgency to get a deal over the finish line.  If it's B or C, free agency is clearly just being used for supplemental additions, and there is no urgency.  With Kelly locked down, you can easily wait until MLK day to go shopping for relief and bench help.  It's not an issue at all.

I’m hoping for plan B. Not sure who the pitcher is, but on the hitting side I hope it is a Tucker. And I think it is possible. 

[squally1313]

31 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

As everyone here is aware, I'm relatively new to being embedded with Cubs news. After 18-ish months, I'm continually surprised by how boring they are.

Can you expand on this? Like, compared to who? Not doubting you, know you're relatively deep in the weeds with multiple teams here, really generally curious. My general belief is that we are generally just day to day followers of one team (Cubs), and we get aggregated news of the other 29 teams, and so we think there's just stuff going on elsewhere, all the time, but in reality the Cubs are contributing a comparable amount to the overall news cycle. 

Like, relative to the other moves made, we made a semi-big trade at the 2023 trade deadline, we signed one of the bigger FAs last offseason, we made the Busch trade, we made a bigger trade (Morel/Paredes) at the 2024 deadline. Yeah, it's no Soto or Ohtani, but outside of the coastal elite teams are we still 'boring'?

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 hours ago, squally1313 said:

Can you expand on this? Like, compared to who? Not doubting you, know you're relatively deep in the weeds with multiple teams here, really generally curious. My general belief is that we are generally just day to day followers of one team (Cubs), and we get aggregated news of the other 29 teams, and so we think there's just stuff going on elsewhere, all the time, but in reality the Cubs are contributing a comparable amount to the overall news cycle. 

Like, relative to the other moves made, we made a semi-big trade at the 2023 trade deadline, we signed one of the bigger FAs last offseason, we made the Busch trade, we made a bigger trade (Morel/Paredes) at the 2024 deadline. Yeah, it's no Soto or Ohtani, but outside of the coastal elite teams are we still 'boring'?

I guess my issue is that I expect the Cubs to be neck-deep with those coastal elite teams and they're just not. We fired up a Red Sox site several months ago and the difference between the Sox and Cubs news cycle is enormous.

My opinion is that this ownership/front office is cautious to a fault. They should be wading into deeper waters, playing with the big boys and they just won't do it. It doesn't mean they're badly run or incompetent... it's just not very exciting to follow on a daily basis.

Now don't get me wrong, if you want truly boring, I also work within the Twins sphere, where the word I would use to describe the past six months is "comatose".

[squally1313]

54 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I guess my issue is that I expect the Cubs to be neck-deep with those coastal elite teams and they're just not. We fired up a Red Sox site several months ago and the difference between the Sox and Cubs news cycle is enormous.

My opinion is that this ownership/front office is cautious to a fault. They should be wading into deeper waters, playing with the big boys and they just won't do it. It doesn't mean they're badly run or incompetent... it's just not very exciting to follow on a daily basis.

Now don't get me wrong, if you want truly boring, I also work within the Twins sphere, where the word I would use to describe the past six months is "comatose".

It's interesting to use the Red Sox as a comparison since they'd been getting a ton of crap up until about 17 minutes ago for how poorly their team was being run back through the Mookie debacle. They made a few trades at the deadline but nothing of real consequence. I think it's maybe just a different kind of sports town with a more voracious appetite for rumors and drama and whatever else. But besides the Crochet deal that just happened, there isn't a ton that I can point to in the last couple years that stands out as some stark difference in front office approach. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just now, squally1313 said:

It's interesting to use the Red Sox as a comparison since they'd been getting a ton of crap up until about 17 minutes ago for how poorly their team was being run back through the Mookie debacle. They made a few trades at the deadline but nothing of real consequence. I think it's maybe just a different kind of sports town with a more voracious appetite for rumors and drama and whatever else. But besides the Crochet deal that just happened, there isn't a ton that I can point to in the last couple years that stands out as some stark difference in front office approach. 

The last couple of years of Red Sox baseball were not very exciting, I agree. I'm still getting a feel for New Englanders and how they approach baseball. It's very different than the Midwest mindset I've experienced thus far with the Twins, Brewers, and Cubs.