Cubs 2025 Season Review/Offseason Preview Thread

[soccer10k]

1 hour ago, CDM0481 said:

The Cubs need…  

Two lights out relief pitchers that can blow away hitters late. Outside of Palencia I can’t recall any starter or reliever that averaged over 1k/IP

Kittridge, Hodge, Pomeranz, Brown and Keller all averaged more than 1 K/IP.

[Geographyhater8888]

Dodgers score only 2 runs, Blake Snell throws 8 shutout innings and they win by a 2-1 score. I wish we had someone like that for game 1.

Edited October 14, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Jason Ross]

6 hours ago, Stratos said:

Biggest question for me for Mo is the throwing.  Big guy needs to shift and move quick to get a good pop-time.  Catchers can always keep improving their craft but i assume the Cubs have a good idea at this point of Mo's defensive ability and future catching.

Looked up Kirk on Savant, his pop- time was average this year after being below average for a few seasons prior.

I'm not entirely certain the Cubs could know yet. The reality is very, very, very few catchers make their debut at the age Moises Ballesteros is. The last two college catchers to go 1-1 in the draft were Adley Rustchman and Henry Davis. You can make arguments that Davis wasn't the top player in his draft, but Rustchman was widely considered the best player and one of the best all around college catchers in a while. He made his MLB debut at age 24, three years older than Ballesteros. 

I don't mean to boil this down to a series of anecdotes, but the reality is that at Ballesteros age, he's incredibly young for a catcher and most at his position have years of defensive development to go before they're deemed MLB ready. I do believe the Cubs believe they can get him there, but he could take two more years defensively and he would still be probably right in line for normal catching development. Which goes to speak how well he has hit more than anything. 

[Backtobanks]

12 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

How old are you? I go back to my first Cubs disappointment being the ‘69 Cubs. But I don’t remember Burgess. 

Most of my memories of Burgess was with the Pirates in the early 60's.  He was short, round, and could hit like crazy.  He played for quite a few teams in a long career that spanned the 50's and 60's.  As my username suggests I became a fan when Ernie was a rookie.

[CubUgly]

22 hours ago, Andy said:

To be frank, Tucker is probably too old to do that. He'll be 29 the next time he plays in an organized baseball game and any year he plays before gunning for a mega contract is just going to lower the value of that contract at this point. To say nothing of the owners militantly pursuing a salary cap after next season and probably torpedoing games to get it.

Agreed, if anything Tuck cost himself a lot of $$ with how this year played out and if he'd really be rolling the dice signing a 2-3 year deal that it would cost him even more down the line.  The Yanks or Dodgers will pay him long term, they both have the means to eat the money down the line if things go badly, and things might. 

[Cuzi]

4 minutes ago, CubUgly said:

Agreed, if anything Tuck cost himself a lot of $$ with how this year played out and if he'd really be rolling the dice signing a 2-3 year deal that it would cost him even more down the line.  The Yanks or Dodgers will pay him long term, they both have the means to eat the money down the line if things go badly, and things might. 

So do the Cubs.

[Rcal10]

9 hours ago, CDM0481 said:

I did suggest improving pitching... additional of 2 late inning guys that get strikeouts to compliment Palencia.

Luis Robert would steal 50-60 bases, and probably add 20-25+ home runs in a better situation than he was last year constantly hearing his name being involved in trades. 
 

i get they probably won’t sign Bichette and Kyle. For the above scenario to work, they’d need to get Bichette.

As far as starting pitching goes, take your chances with what you got. When the trade deadline approaches, that’s where you add. Too many question marks that are too risky to offer what will be demanded. The best free agent starters all pitched poorly last year. If you can get a prove it deal for one year high AAV then ok. Beyond that, Cubs should pass

I just read your original post again. I find it fascinating how Robert is viewed so differently by posters. We have 2 who suggest the Sox won’t exercise his option and then there is your idea of trading Shaw and Cassie for him. Which is an outrageous get for the Sox. That is way to much. However, I don’t think he will be a FA either. If the Sox could get something like Cassie and Shaw for Robert he would have been traded long ago.

I do like the idea of Robert IF the Sox not exercise the option and the Cubs don’t sign Tucker. Hate it if it is to trade Shaw and Cassie for him. If they get Bichette or Bregman I would be fine with Shaw and Cassie going for a guy like Cabrera or some other controlled pitcher. Definitely not for Robert. 

As for adding a starter at the trade deadline, we saw how well that idea worked. You get that pitcher now. 

[Rex Buckingham]

9 hours ago, CDM0481 said:

package Shaw and Cassie together for Luis Robert Jr.

This is pants-on-head crazy horsefeathers. Each of those 2 have way more value on their own than Robert. 

[champaignchris]

I’m mentally prepared for a very conservative offseason from Hoyer. Like, a couple waiver wire signings for the bench, an injury reclamation starting pitcher who might be ready to pitch in June, and his typical half dozen lottery tickets in the bullpen. Cubs go into next season with a payroll $10 million less than last year. 

Obviously, I don’t hope that happens. I may even be a bit too pessimistic, but I just don’t see any major roster turnover. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

Do we have a date/time yet for Jed's end of season press conference?

[Donzo]

20 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Nothing was "made up". You are correct, I missed in the data set that he was hurt during the one season and that was wrong of me. Sadly, as much as I wish I was perfect, I am just as flawed of a human as the rest of us. I have also admitted I missed that, so I've already owned up to my miss there. Please, however, it's not fair to me to characterize it as I just "made" things up. 

Well, you said you saw the game logs, so I don't see how you could have missed that he was the starting catcher to start the season before his injury. I was just going by memory and knew he was the starting catcher.

Anyway, we'll just use your comp. That means Ballesteros will be a major league starting catcher next April and one of the best defensive catchers in the majors in 2027.

[Donzo]

17 hours ago, I owned a Suzuki said:

I agree with your point on his weight. I disagree with his ability to play 1st

Yep, he's either a catcher or a full time DH.

[Bertz]

4 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Do we have a date/time yet for Jed's end of season press conference?

I haven't seen anything.  It's usually like the Tuesday or Wednesday after the season, though that's generally been with them knowing exactly when their season is going to end.

I'd expect this week, but hard to say beyond that.

[Donzo]

17 hours ago, Caesar said:

The fact he’s allowed himself to be overweight and out of shape at his age is inexcusable. This is his career yet he hasn’t done the physical work to get in shape. You can bet on 10 to 15 pound weight gain in the next 5 years. Maybe a backup 1st baseman?

We'll see. Some people are like Swarber and can get in shape and some just wont do it.

I don't see how he can play any other position. He certainly won't be able to play LF and he just too slow and short for 1B. Just think how many high throws Busch caught that would go over Ballesteros's head. Then there's all the balls that would get by him. If he's gonna be a position player it's catcher or bust.

[Jason Ross]

41 minutes ago, Donzo said:

Well, you said you saw the game logs, so I don't see how you could have missed that he was the starting catcher to start the season before his injury. I was just going by memory and knew he was the starting catcher.

Anyway, we'll just use your comp. That means Ballesteros will be a major league starting catcher next April and one of the best defensive catchers in the majors in 2027.

The game logs don't mention an injury, they're just game logs. They show only his MLB time. Matt Shaw was the start 3b and then has gaps too. Could I have taken a second step, look at his MiLB section of his game logs to confirm an assumptions? Yep! Did I move too fast? Yep! Have I admitted this already? Yep! Did I make things up? No.

I also didn't make a direct comparison. I think you'll find with a quick search of my history of posts I hate the concept of them and while I think there are players who can remind you of others, comps are not something I subscribe to as often as possible.

Bringing up Kirk, therefore, is an anecdote that body size isn't an immediate disqualifier for catcher not that I think Ballesteros is Alejandro Kirk. It is to show that players who have a similar body type are actively finding success at the position. What Ballesteros is and will be is not tied to Kirk's timeline. But he is also very young for his position, and he could take two+ more years to develop defensively and still be well within a normal catching developmental timeline. I doubt he will win a gold glove or be considered excellent. If the Cubs even got him to 70+ game starter at C while splitting time at DH, they would be sitting on what is likely a strong offensive weapon at a weak offensive position.

[CDM0481]

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/free-agents/_/year/2026/level/mlb

 

 

[Bertz]

36 minutes ago, Donzo said:

Well, you said you saw the game logs, so I don't see how you could have missed that he was the starting catcher to start the season before his injury. I was just going by memory and knew he was the starting catcher.

Anyway, we'll just use your comp. That means Ballesteros will be a major league starting catcher next April and one of the best defensive catchers in the majors in 2027.

The point of comparing Kirk and Moises is not "these are the same player on the same trajectory" but instead "here is another short tubby catcher.  Not only is he not unplayable at the position, he's very good."  It's a counterexample to writing off Mo because of his body type.  Playing "gotchya" with minutiae about Kirk's career is beside frankly any point.

[TarzanJoeWallis]

2 hours ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Do we have a date/time yet for Jed's end of season press conference?

It will focus on intelligent spending and improving on the margins. There you go. You don’t even have to watch now. 🙂

[CubinNY]

4 hours ago, champaignchris said:

I’m mentally prepared for a very conservative offseason from Hoyer. Like, a couple waiver wire signings for the bench, an injury reclamation starting pitcher who might be ready to pitch in June, and his typical half dozen lottery tickets in the bullpen. Cubs go into next season with a payroll $10 million less than last year. 

Obviously, I don’t hope that happens. I may even be a bit too pessimistic, but I just don’t see any major roster turnover. 

I'm mentally prepared for having children. - The Bum!

[Tim]

15 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

So why wouldn’t they have traded him for anything at the deadline if they aren’t going to pick up his contract. And, they have spent more than $70M on a contract. 

Just spitballing...He was so bad in the first half that there weren't any buyers.

[Tim]

15 hours ago, CDM0481 said:

... package Shaw and Cassie together for Luis Robert Jr....

I'm sorry, what?

I'm interested in Robert if he's a free agent on a prove-it contract. Perhaps as a trade acquisition where we give up something minimal and take on the contract.

But what you suggest? That's insanity.

[Tim]

14 hours ago, soccer10k said:

Kittridge, Hodge, Pomeranz, Brown and Keller all averaged more than 1 K/IP.

But what else have the Romans ever done for us?

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, Tim said:

Just spitballing...He was so bad in the first half that there weren't any buyers.

I am sure someone would have taken him for at least a fringe prospect. And probably  high ceiling type of guy with a low probability of reaching that ceiling. Reds were said to be interested, as were the Padres. And he wasn’t moved. I don’t see the Sox now just letting him walk. It makes no sense. Of course even it is more likely than the Cubs trading Cassie and Shaw for him. That is next level nonsense, I agree. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

3 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I don’t see the Sox now just letting him walk.

His 2026 option is $20M.  There is a chance he exceeds that contract, but no way would I give up anything more than complete minor league roster filler for him.

[BKHoo]

11 hours ago, champaignchris said:

I’m mentally prepared for a very conservative offseason from Hoyer. Like, a couple waiver wire signings for the bench, an injury reclamation starting pitcher who might be ready to pitch in June, and his typical half dozen lottery tickets in the bullpen. Cubs go into next season with a payroll $10 million less than last year. 

Obviously, I don’t hope that happens. I may even be a bit too pessimistic, but I just don’t see any major roster turnover. 

I’d really like them to pursue Bregman (again). He would fit in so well here.