Cubs 2025 Season Review/Offseason Preview Thread

[Brandon Glick]

Well... that sucked.

Coming back from 0-2 down only to lose Game 5 in that whimper of a fashion was a rather poetic way for this season to end.

Now, the Cubs are left to pick up the pieces of a should've-been-better postseason run that was still pretty good. Kyle Tucker's free agency looms, practically the entire bullpen will join him, and Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Jameson Taillon all have just one year remaining on their current deals.

What are you most looking forward to this offseason? What's your favorite memory from the 2025 campaign? What do you lament the most? What changes do you want to see?

---

Thanks for a great season, everyone. We hope you enjoyed following this team as much as we enjoyed covering them.

[NorthsideAvenger]

Favorite memory of the 2025 season was Michael Busch's 3 homerun game. 

Not sure if I am looking forward to the off-season, which I assume will be very slow and annoying. 

[Tryptamine]

The offense must be addressed and that's going to be very difficult given this roster's lack of flexibility. I see a couple possibilities.

You snag Bregman and that let's you dangle Shaw+ for a Joe Ryan type

You snag Alonso, deal with Seiya in RF and that let's you move Ballesteros for an arm maybe a Bryce Miller/Sandy Alcantara type. You still have Caissie to take over RF in 2027.

If you deal either Shaw or Ballesteros for an arm, you can then move Taillon to open some salary and at 17M he can probably bring back either a reliever or a prospect or two that slot in the 10-15 range.

They need a legitimate utility infielder from day one. You cannot go into 2026 throwing an array of Nick Lopez, Vidal Brujan and Jon Berti out there. 

I'm also going to put this out there and it's going to cause some rage, but depending on how other teams value him, I'd listen to offers on PCA. I know there's basically no one to take CF, but this might be the last chance to sell high. Against I'm not actively looking to move him.  

 

 

 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Tryptamine said:

The offense must be addressed and that's going to be very difficult given this roster's lack of flexibility. I see a couple possibilities.

You snag Bregman and that let's you dangle Shaw+ for a Joe Ryan type

You snag Alonso, deal with Seiya in RF and that let's you move Ballesteros for an arm maybe a Bryce Miller/Sandy Alcantara type. You still have Caissie to take over RF in 2027.

If you deal either Shaw or Ballesteros for an arm, you can then move Taillon to open some salary and at 17M he can probably bring back either a reliever or a prospect or two that slot in the 10-15 range.

They need a legitimate utility infielder from day one. You cannot go into 2026 throwing an array of Nick Lopez, Vidal Brujan and Jon Berti out there. 

I'm also going to put this out there and it's going to cause some rage, but depending on how other teams value him, I'd listen to offers on PCA. I know there's basically no one to take CF, but this might be the last chance to sell high. Against I'm not actively looking to move him.  

 

 

 

Not enraged about trading PCA. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I have no idea why it would be remotely considered. I also do not know that if they traded him now they would be selling high. He very well can improve. 

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Rcal10 said:

Not enraged about trading PCA. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I have no idea why it would be remotely considered. I also do not know that if they traded him now they would be selling high. He very well can improve. 

Frankly I'm a bit terrified he's going to end up being an 85-90 wRC+ guy with elite defense/base running which is very valuable but if someone is valuing him at a 115-120 wRC+ guy with even more untapped then yeah I'm considering it.

[Bertz]

Some assorted thoughts on the state of things and the direction I'm thinking. This was supposed to be brief but...well it very much isn't

- The team is ~$80M south of the luxury tax line if we assume no options get picked up. I would tentatively expect ~$10M to be set aside, ~$20M to be spent on boring stuff (bench/bullpen depth), and ~$50M to be spent on fun stuff

- I think the smart money for pretty much as long as Tom owns the team is to expect that the payroll cap will be roughly the LT line. However, I think if Tom is ever going to let Jed significantly cross the line for a year, this year makes about as much sense as any between the playoff run and all the expiring contracts after next season

- IMO the big picture direction of this offseason boils down to Kyle Tucker + whatever pitching you can get by trading Owen Caissie vs. Owen Caissie + whatever pitching you can get for Kyle Tucker's ~$40M salary. I lean towards the latter, though I suspect I will flip flop 2-3 times over the next two months. Worth noting: if PTR is willing to juice payroll that very quickly tilts my scales more towards keeping Tucker 

- The argument for letting Tucker leave is re-allocating that money and opening a spot for the kids. So you could theoretically extend that logic to re-signing Tucker and moving Seiya. However I don't like that idea as I worry though about removing the primary source of RHH power from the lineup. Ideally you could move Happ, though that NTC seems pretty locked down.  I'm not going to begrudge the guy loving Chicago though, and it isn't especially painful having to hold onto him

- The roster is remarkably ready to go right from jump. Jed could honestly take a nap until MLK Day, add some free agent scraps to the bench/bullpen, and I think this team still comfortably wins a wildcard (though not as comfortably as this year)

- The flipside to the roster being so complete is that it's tough to make meaningful upgrades. Re-signing Tucker, getting a rockstar SP, or building a bullpen of doom are pretty much the only multi-win upgrades available IMO. Mayyybe Bregman or Bo Bichette at 3B?

- I understand that Shota has not earned a lot of confidence over the last few weeks, but I tend to think letting him go would be an emotional knee jerk reaction. That said, if either Tom is willing to juice payroll or Jed already knows for sure he is going to let Tucker walk the calculus changes.  In either of those cases I think there's a strong argument to letting Shota walk and making it a two SP winter

- I don't have a great sense of what to do with the bench. Just letting the kids fill the bench works on paper, but I suspect you're putting them in a poor position to succeed and develop. So how do you handle the kid/vet balance?  And can you even get good vet(s) given the lack of playing time you're able to promise?  I don't have a firm answer.  I will say this is a moment where I'm very happy to have Craig Counsell

- Speaking of the kids, I know everyone has minor league options still so you don't *have* to do anything, but I think you really ought to cash in at least one of the Iowa bats this winter.  If you re-sign Tucker probably two of them. Relatedly, you don't absolutely have to do anything with them but I don’t think all three of Brown/Wicks/Assad should still be in the org by the end of the winter (Assad is the guy to move here IMO)

- I want a bullpen of doom, and I want it to be a bullpen of doom right from Opening Day.  I think this accomplishes two things. First, like I mentioned above there's not a lot of places to upgrade this team. The argument against spending big on relievers is largely about opportunity cost, but there's not a lot of other opportunity on this roster.  Second, if you come into the season with 4-5 impact arms it gives you time and opportunity to let Tommy Hottovy cook and find the next Keller/Pomeranz/etc. 

[gflore34]

Bullpen was thinking about, from the right side, Palencia, Keller, Hodge and Brown.  From the left side I do not believe Thielbar or Pomeranz will come any where near what they did this season.  I'd most definitely move on from Thielbar, might consider a one year offer to Pomeranz, that still leaves the need for two more LHP's?  I'd like to see Hoyer find some LHP's with plus stuff,  other teams manage to do so, why can't Jed?

Edited October 12, 2025 by gflore34

[Illiterate Scholar]

My thoughts 

Locking Shota in for 3/57 would be really unnecessary at this time. I kinda think he'll still be back either via his own option or the QO as Trueblood wrote a few days ago. But the team option should be declined, at least this off-season, imo.

I'm not expecting a lot of new faces on offense. I think Ballesteros will start the season in AAA to work on catching and they'll roll with Caissie, along with a lefty masher like Andujar or Grichuk, as Tucker's replacement. 

They'll spend big/medium on a SP. I think the uncertainty of 2027 impacts the calculus of signing and potentially losing a year/part of a year of a prime-ish aged bat more than it does a pitcher, especially for a team with as many spots already filled like the Cubs do. 

 

Edited October 12, 2025 by Illiterate Scholar

[Tryptamine]

1 hour ago, Illiterate Scholar said:

My thoughts 

Locking Shota in for 3/57 would be really unnecessary at this time. I kinda think he'll still be back either via his own option or the QO as Trueblood wrote a few days ago. But the team option should be declined, at least this off-season, imo.

I'm not expecting a lot of new faces on offense. I think Ballesteros will start the season in AAA to work on catching and they'll roll with Caissie, along with a lefty masher like Andujar or Grichuk, as Tucker's replacement. 

They'll spend big/medium on a SP. I think the uncertainty of 2027 impacts the calculus of signing and potentially losing a year/part of a year of a prime-ish aged bat more than it does a pitcher, especially for a team with as many spots already filled like the Cubs do. 

 

This would make no sense to me since frankly the rotation is already kind of great. Yeah Steele likely doesn't start the year in the rotation but Assad can cover him for a month or whatever. 

Steele/Boyd/Shota/Horton/Tallion is really really good and might even have Wiggins joining them at some point.

[Outshined_One]

I'm admittedly down on Caissie and Alcantara for 2026. I can't remember who first mentioned it in the context of Wicks and Brown, but I really wish there was a way to loan both out to a team like the Pirates where they could play every day comfortably, make mistakes, learn, and then come back to the Cubs in 6 months to a year. If either is the starting OF come opening day, something seriously went wrong.

I've mentioned elsewhere, but my sense is the Cubs are going to make their highest/best offer to Tucker early and go from there. Whether he takes it should dictate whether they pursue a TOR SP through trade or free agency.

[cubfansince77]

48 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I'm admittedly down on Caissie and Alcantara for 2026. I can't remember who first mentioned it in the context of Wicks and Brown, but I really wish there was a way to loan both out to a team like the Pirates where they could play every day comfortably, make mistakes, learn, and then come back to the Cubs in 6 months to a year. If either is the starting OF come opening day, something seriously went wrong.

I've mentioned elsewhere, but my sense is the Cubs are going to make their highest/best offer to Tucker early and go from there. Whether he takes it should dictate whether they pursue a TOR SP through trade or free agency.

Nice post...I'm going back and forth on Tucker. My gut and baseball sense says sign him. Dude has a sweet swing, good work ethic and is solid in the clubhouse. Then my head starts messing with me and I look at some of the pitching needs we have and if possible another bat and I think....use all that dough for our other needs. I have a buddy of mine who doesn't like him because he questions his durability. He is 30ish. At the end of the day I think they make a solid offer but nothing crazy and he'll end up on the Yankees. They missed out on Soto, doubt they'll miss out on Tucker. 

[Stratos]

If there's a shining light from Tucker's struggles and injuries it's that the Cubs now have a much better shot to sign him if they want him.   They're also in by far the best position to evaluate if he's still hurt and if that's going to affect him going forward.

Definitely not as likely he gets a 10 year deal now.  I wonder if he gets some kind of creative contract sort of like Imanaga's that protects both team and player, with some years of guarantees but a team option to extend + player options/opt-outs.

[Stratos]

3 minutes ago, cubfansince77 said:

Nice post...I'm going back and forth on Tucker. My gut and baseball sense says sign him. Dude has a sweet swing, good work ethic and is solid in the clubhouse. Then my head starts messing with me and I look at some of the pitching needs we have and if possible another bat and I think....use all that dough for our other needs. I have a buddy of mine who doesn't like him because he questions his durability. He is 30ish. At the end of the day I think they make a solid offer but nothing crazy and he'll end up on the Yankees. They missed out on Soto, doubt they'll miss out on Tucker. 

Going against the Cubs is the hitting environment isn't good here, so if Tucker wants opt-outs the Yankees will look a lot better for him.

[Derwood]

Since Kyle had a less-than-ideal season, would he want/be willing to do a 2-3 year deal with opt outs in order to bounce back and maybe cash in a few years down the line?

[Rcal10]

3 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

This would make no sense to me since frankly the rotation is already kind of great. Yeah Steele likely doesn't start the year in the rotation but Assad can cover him for a month or whatever. 

Steele/Boyd/Shota/Horton/Tallion is really really good and might even have Wiggins joining them at some point.

You think there rotation as is would be great? I absolutely do not agree. At best, with a healthy Steele it would be fine. But no idea if Steele will be healthy. Assad filling in for him is less than ideal. This rotation has maybe 3 #3’s and a possible #2 starter if Horton progresses. And I am not sure Tailon should be counted on as a 3. When Steele comes back he can be anything between a #2 to 4th starter. Assad is a 5. Again, not bad, but not great. They need a TOR starter. 

[CDM0481]

I’d like to see the Cubs sign Bo Bichette…if he would be willing to move to third or the outfield. With Dansby signed through 2029, that’s the best they can do from a position player standpoint. Guy hits for average, and power. And doesn’t strikeout 150+ times a year. From there I’d pursue a reunion with Kyle Schwarber. Offer him 3-4 years at an AAV of 35-40m. Lineup would look like:

 

Busch 

Hoerner

Bichette

Schwarber

Suzuki

PCA

Happ

Swanson

Amaya/Kelly

 

 

 

Stick with the pitching rotation in place the first half of the year. Then make moves at the trade deadline for pitching.

[Cuzi]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

Since Kyle had a less-than-ideal season, would he want/be willing to do a 2-3 year deal with opt outs in order to bounce back and maybe cash in a few years down the line?

Tucker's season, out side of his defense, was pretty much in line with his norm. Not sure where this less-than-ideal is coming from other than saying he didn't put up a monster career season before his new deal.

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, cubfansince77 said:

Nice post...I'm going back and forth on Tucker. My gut and baseball sense says sign him. Dude has a sweet swing, good work ethic and is solid in the clubhouse. Then my head starts messing with me and I look at some of the pitching needs we have and if possible another bat and I think....use all that dough for our other needs. I have a buddy of mine who doesn't like him because he questions his durability. He is 30ish. At the end of the day I think they make a solid offer but nothing crazy and he'll end up on the Yankees. They missed out on Soto, doubt they'll miss out on Tucker. 

I could see Tucker going to the Yankees.

Seiya isn't a bad replacement in RF.  Seiya put up 3.5 WAR in 2024 while playing 59 games at DH and missing about a month worth of games to injury, so he has the potential for a 4 WAR season if he plays RF every day.  3.5 WAR is more realistic though.

Moises/Caissie/Long/Amaya at DH could be pretty decent, but we obviously won't get Tucker/Seiya combo productivity.  Amaya was smoking the ball before he got injured.

[Geographyhater8888]

If Busch continues to sit vs lefties, free agent Paul Goldschmidt had a 981 OPS vs left handers last season and a career 1007.

Edited October 13, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Derwood]

6 hours ago, Cuzi said:

Tucker's season, out side of his defense, was pretty much in line with his norm. Not sure where this less-than-ideal is coming from other than saying he didn't put up a monster career season before his new deal.

Having been hurt for a chunk of 2024, he was hoping for a fully healthy season with bigger numbers. 

[Geographyhater8888]

7 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

You think there rotation as is would be great? I absolutely do not agree. At best, with a healthy Steele it would be fine. But no idea if Steele will be healthy. Assad filling in for him is less than ideal. This rotation has maybe 3 #3’s and a possible #2 starter if Horton progresses. And I am not sure Tailon should be counted on as a 3. When Steele comes back he can be anything between a #2 to 4th starter. Assad is a 5. Again, not bad, but not great. They need a TOR starter. 

We also have to assume we’re getting the same Justin Steele back before his surgery too. Valdez without question would transform this rotation but I’m afraid their ceiling is Cease and their floor is a Zach Gallen. Depending on Shotas future and if he walks, you’re still 5 deep and it’d be difficult to recruit another #3/#4 option with the possibility of losing a rotation spot when Steele returns.

[CubUgly]

17 hours ago, Brandon Glick said:

Well... that sucked.

Coming back from 0-2 down only to lose Game 5 in that whimper of a fashion was a rather poetic way for this season to end.

Now, the Cubs are left to pick up the pieces of a should've-been-better postseason run that was still pretty good. Kyle Tucker's free agency looms, practically the entire bullpen will join him, and Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Jameson Taillon all have just one year remaining on their current deals.

What are you most looking forward to this offseason? What's your favorite memory from the 2025 campaign? What do you lament the most? What changes do you want to see?

---

Thanks for a great season, everyone. We hope you enjoyed following this team as much as we enjoyed covering them.

Yeah, if you had told me we'd win 92 games and a playoff series without Steel and with our big offseason acquisition basically being pretty mediocre to bad or else hurt half the season, I'd say it was a success but not being able to score the last game and not getting an extra arm or position player either in the off-season or at the deadline that might have made the difference leaves me feeling a bit empty.  Mixed bag for me. 

[CubinNY]

Is stale a thing in prospects? OWNKC, Alcantara, and to a lesser extent, Mo Baller have nothing to prove in AAA. They have to either let them play or trade them. They are on the razor's edge of contention with the current team configuration and things can go south quickly. It's obvious baseball is not Shaw's top priority; they can deal him as well.  They will need to pick a direction and head that way, balls out. 

Whatever direction they choose, there is no chance they will get in a bidding war for Tucker with the Mets and Yankees.

 

[Jason Ross]

51 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Is stale a thing in prospects? OWNKC, Alcantara, and to a lesser extent, Mo Baller have nothing to prove in AAA. They have to either let them play or trade them. They are on the razor's edge of contention with the current team configuration and things can go south quickly. It's obvious baseball is not Shaw's top priority; they can deal him as well.  They will need to pick a direction and head that way, balls out. 

Whatever direction they choose, there is no chance they will get in a bidding war for Tucker with the Mets and Yankees.

 

Stale is very much a thing, though usually is called "prospect fatigue". Essentially, there is a crossover point with prospects and perceived value.  For example, Owen Caissie has well over 1,000 PA's and there is a point when all he can do is lower his value. Even if he does well, you can kind of jump to "well, yeah, he's been there forever" as a reason why. 

I will say, I think Ballesteros can go to Iowa and be okay in this aspect. 21-year-old-catchers aren't really a thing in the MLB and with his shape/size and questions defensively he still has places to progress. 

But overall, I do think the Cubs have essentially kicked the can as far down the road as they can. Caissie, Long, Ballesteros, and Alcantara have a ton of overlap in potential MLB positioning and the Cubs probably need to pick two or three of them to keep and one or two of them to trade before real fatigue set in.

[Outshined_One]

55 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Is stale a thing in prospects? OWNKC, Alcantara, and to a lesser extent, Mo Baller have nothing to prove in AAA. They have to either let them play or trade them.

I'm kinda there with those three and, to a lesser extent, Johnny Long and James Triantos. I think we have a pretty good idea of their respective ceilings and floors, with Ballesteros probably being the only one to benefit from more time in AAA if the Cubs truly believe he can stick at catcher long term, although he's also the only one of the five I'd be comfortable seeing in the 2026 opening day lineup.