Question of the week: grade the offseason

[Brock Beauchamp]

What grade do you give the Cubs this offseason?

[Bertz]

I'd go with an A, probably an A- if we're being a little finer with it.

Things I liked:

- I like that they finally pulled the trigger on a Caissie trade.  It was definitely at least 6 months overdue and probably a year overdue, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm really into Cabrera (and I already dinged them for their inaction at the deadline)

- Bregman was a good middle ground between replacing Tucker's offensive production, keeping costs in a place that didn't torpedoe the rest of the offseason, and preparing for Hoerner's free agency.  I didn't love the idea in November but it grew on me a lot as the offseason progressed

- I like that they actually invested in the pen.  In prior years it would have been just like Harvey/Milner/Webb and then some NRIs.  There's a mix of certainty and upside this year.  It still feels one guy short but that's not horrible

- I love that they're leaving room for the kids to break in.  It's a tightrope between giving opportunity and not leaving yourself exposed and I think they've successfully walked it

Things I didn't like:

- Given that it sounds like they came in under budget a bit, they probably should have added one more reliever with some oomf.  Honestly something as simple as not trading Kittredge and only adding one of Milner/Thielbar makes a noticeable difference IMO

- I'm fine with each contract in isolation, but the team is spending $45M on the combo of Shota/Taillon/Rea.  That feels....not great.  Especially given the much discussed roster cliff

- Related to the above, the team really went nuts on SP depth, likely to the detriment of the frontline talent.  The team currently has 11 viable MLB starters, which is great.  But they've only needed 8-9 each of the last three years.  And sure there's no guarantee it won't swell to 10 (or 11 or 12) this year, but at the same time it feels counterproductive to put out a lesser top 5 in order to make the 8-12 guys marginally better

Overall it was a good offseason and this is a good and deep team.  Hard not to be excited.

[Jason Ross]

It's a really solid "A" for me. Heading into the offseason I think the biggest questions were:
1. Rotation and rotational depth - How would the team add players with upside and how could they avoid the issues at the end of last year?
2. Kyle Tucker - How does the team address that loss?
3. Bullpen - Would the team go back to the "spaghetti toss" system?
4. Budget - Would the Cubs act like a team coming off a 92-win year or would they revert back into their profits?

I think the Cubs answered all of those questions well. They brought in Edward Cabrera while maintaining a strong rotation. Think of it this way; last year's Opening Day starter is now arguably the fifth best arm in the rotation when Steele returns. Now, that isn't entirely because the Cubs added four more starters above him, but I think it highlights some of the added depth between Cabrera, Horton, and how well Boyd has worked out. 

Position-player-wise, the Cubs have adequately replaced Kyle Tucker with a great player in Alex Bregman while strengthening the bench with Matt Shaw. 

Bullpen wise the Cubs are probably close to where we last saw them. There's going to be attrition, but there's real upside. It's probably short of "bullpen of death" but added whiff, strikeouts and is probably more solidly a "good bullpen" that doesn't have to rely as heavily on defense. And there's probably one young reliever who will pop through too. 

Budget wise the Cubs didn't go full-miser. They could always spend more, but they didn't do what many thought in going with one-year deals and fearful of some potential lockout scenarios. They spent enough money that I'm not upset. 

It's not an A+ or anything, but they addressed almost any question they had, they built off of a 92-win year and enter 2026 as the likely favorites in the division and a top-3 side in the NL and that feels like an A offseason to me. 

[Tryptamine]

I'm going to go B+. I quite like what they did with the pen even if they didn't get a true lockdown guy. I liked the Cabrera trade and the upside it gives the rotation even if he does come with durability questions. I very much like Bregman at 3B especially because it pushes Shaw into the Zobrist role which is a big upgrade for the bench. So for the things that kept me from ranking it higher.

1) Yes getting Steele back should be a be fairly big for the rotation, but there is a good amount of uncertainty around Cabrera and the Cubs really needed a guy to slot into the top 3 of the rotation. That might be Cabrera, but who knows given his history.

2) The Cub offense is very deep now, but after losing Tucker I'm not sure they have a true elite bat. They've got a ton of guys you can pencil in for 115-130 wRC+ but no one is going to threaten that 150+ wRC+ territory. I also feel like they're bench bat short but maybe Alcantara turns the corner.

3) They rebuilt the bullpen on the cheap and honestly it looks pretty good, but man would I like one more good pen arm, it doesn't even have to be a closer, but one more pen arm in the tier of Palencia/Maton/Harvey. 

[JBears79]

Id give it a B+. Idk why but when I look at the roster, it just feels one bat short. I think this is a contender for sure and I love the pitching staff. Jed did a great job this offseason and this is the first time I can recall where I loved every move he made. He finally addressed the bullpen with some velocity and got us some vets we can utilize/trust to start the year and fill in the gaps with internal arms as injuries occur and rest is required for some guys.

[cl smooth]

B+. like jbears79 stated above, i feel like the cubs could use one more bat. 

[Rcal10]

I am waffling between B+ and A-. I like the Bregman addition as well as the Cabrera trade. I actually think Bregman is a better pick up then had they gone with Tucker. I think Bregman will make guys around him better. Tucker was not that type of guy. And Bregman fills a bigger need. They did a nice job with the pen and taking a regular from ‘25 and putting him on the bench, strengthens the bench. To me, they could have spent a bit more on a proven pen arm and/or a right handed bench bat. Jury is out on Austin, and would have rather had Keller or Fairbanks than Webb. Feel they left a little money in the table. But overall, a very good off season. 

[Outshined_One]

A-/B+ for me, too. While this offense seems like it doesn't have an elite bat, I don't see any weak spots in the lineup with Bregman taking over 3B.  Even with some potential regression from guys like Shaw, Busch, and PCA, I don't see the offense going through protracted slumps, either.  The rotation is also stacked and deep, which should be extremely helpful come the deadline (especially if guys like Brown or Wicks show out) and down the stretch when I expect to see guys like Cabrera and Horton start tiring. I'm still a little iffy on the pen, but it feels more stable now than this time a year ago, so that's progress.

[Derwood]

C - Kelly
1B - Busch
2B - Hoerner
3B - Bregman
SS - Swanson
LF - Happ
CF - PCA
RF - Seiya
DH - Mo

Not sure where the extra bat would go

[CubinNY]

A- and B+ are the same grade for anyone wondering. 

[Derwood]

Not in academia they aren't

[squally1313]

High B, maybe a B+

I think they did a good job if you focus on the period of time from 11/1 to the middle of February. Which is technically the question. In hindsight the Kittredge situation doesn't make sense, and I don't love how the Shota situation played out. Going from Tucker to Bregman was clever and while I think we're probably a slightly better team with Shaw at third, Tucker in RF, Seiya at DH, and generic backup MIF on the bench than we are with Bregman 3B/Seiya RF/Ballesteros DH/Shaw Util, we also have an extra $25m or so annually to play with. We finally turned a blocked prospect into a pitcher, and we went after a very high upside guy that gives us a dice roll on a game one starter. 

In terms of the bullpen, whether it's 'fixed' remains to be seen, and it is very much a matter of cleaning up their own mess. Similar to the overarching concerns about the roster cliff. The system is depleted, but obviously they get credit for PCA, Shaw, Horton, Busch, etc. I think in a world where Ballesteros and Caissie were relatively viewed the same in terms of overall value, I probably would have opted to trade Ballesteros (or go get a DH bat and let him catch 120 games in Iowa). 

Ultimately, on the one hand I was calling for the big bat signing and the pitching trade, and we got that, but on the other hand I'm not sure we're better than what we were in November. Status quo for a 92 win team is fine, but the top end of the grading system is reserved for improvement. 

[Rcal10]

3 hours ago, CubinNY said:

A- and B+ are the same grade for anyone wondering. 

Well they aren’t the same grade, however a 90 can be considered a B+ or an A-. Depends on when you went to school. When I was in school 85-92 was a B. Seems now a B is 80-89. So I give them a 90. You decide if that is a B+ or an A-. 

[squally1313]

26 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Well they aren’t the same grade, however a 90 can be considered a B+ or an A-. Depends on when you went to school. When I was in school 85-92 was a B. Seems now a B is 80-89. So I give them a 90. You decide if that is a B+ or an A-. 

[CubinNY]

Solid B for me. I don't give + and -. Those are for sucks. 

The Dodgers definitely get an A - They got one of the best closers and one of the best hitters

Mets definitely get an A

I think the Pirates and Reds had a really good offseason, solid B for them.

I think the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals (on purpose) had terrible offseasons.

Since there are not that many ST games on the radio or TV, I can hardly wait for the season to start. 

[Gjfificifjdej]

3 hours ago, CubinNY said:

Solid B for me. I don't give + and -. Those are for sucks. 

The Dodgers definitely get an A - They got one of the best closers and one of the best hitters

Mets definitely get an A

I think the Pirates and Reds had a really good offseason, solid B for them.

I think the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals (on purpose) had terrible offseasons.

Since there are not that many ST games on the radio or TV, I can hardly wait for the season to start. 

Its genuinely gross how few ST games being broadcast. 

[mk49]

B+

If they got a good closer, I would've given A.  I like Palencia, but he should be a backup closer this year.  He could be good in a couple of years, though.

I'm happy that they didn't trade Nico and Shaw (or any other core players).  They added Bregman, which is nice.  I'm not sure about Cabrera.  I mean he's really good, but not sure about his health.  We'll see.  

I don't know if they'll win 92+, but I think this is a better team.

[Stratos]

B- overall.  Ownership gets a D for being no less than 3rd or 4th in revenue and 9th in payroll in a year where they need to go for it.  Given the payroll he has to work with Hoyer gets a B+.  Could increase if he's able to sign some good extensions, hopefully one of Nico/Seiya.

Hoyer did a very good job not spending a lot of money on near-replacement players unlike seasons past so could spend them it on good players.

Cabrera might have been the best option given the FA SP options.  Cease seems like a bit of an overpay, velo is down on Suarez, Imai might be overrated etc.  Putting big money in a SP is very risky anyways, so Cabrera is solid enough.  22m for Imanaga isn't great but not the worst contract ever.

Bregman is 32 but a good player.  Not an elite bat but still good.  I think the bat is a bit overrated due to Astros/Red Sox bandboxes for RHB.  Not that fond of the contract but should help us a lot the next couple of years at least.

Rebuilt a good pen with a ton of holes.  Could have signed a true closer but the blame is on Ricketts.

[Geographyhater8888]

87 grade for a B+.Jed did about as good as we realistically thought.
 

Jed made a big statement signing Bregman too in the manner that he did so he gets credit there. He took no half measures with the bullpen, (ensured that it won’t suck at least) added more upside to the rotation by trading for Cabrera. This is the most well rounded and complete cubs team on paper since 2018???

It does seem like this teams super high floor is way too close to its ceiling with the lack of any true high end talent. Can’t give the offseason an A with Tucker walking either. Shotas QO horsefeathered up their payroll flexibility too. 

They have enough high AAV safe pitchers. I’m intrigued by a rotation with a healthy Cabrera, Horton and Steele. That’s basically their ticket to a deep playoff run. Shota, Taillon and Rae are nice insurance options for $48 million but that’s $48 million that wasn’t used on Tucker or Devin Williams or cease. Etc on the flip side they’ll keep our fragile arms fresh for September/October and allow them to skip starts.
That’s an elite backend rotation though and I Like our chances vs anyone in a best of 15 playoff series. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

7 hours ago, Stratos said:

 

Bregman is 32 but a good player.  Not an elite bat but still good.  I think the bat is a bit overrated due to Astros/Red Sox bandboxes for RHB.  Not that fond of the contract but should help us a lot the next couple of years at least.

 

Bregman has more career homers and a higher OPS away from Houston and Boston. His OPS was 114 points higher away from Fenway. He’s not the type of the hitter than benefits from short dimensions on his pull side like Peredes or Bellinger.

Edited February 19 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

19 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

A-/B+ for me, too. While this offense seems like it doesn't have an elite bat, I don't see any weak spots in the lineup with Bregman taking over 3B.  Even with some potential regression from guys like Shaw, Busch, and PCA, I don't see the offense going through protracted slumps, either.  The rotation is also stacked and deep, which should be extremely helpful come the deadline (especially if guys like Brown or Wicks show out) and down the stretch when I expect to see guys like Cabrera and Horton start tiring. I'm still a little iffy on the pen, but it feels more stable now than this time a year ago, so that's progress.

99% of Busch’s regression will be because Miles Mikolas is no longer on the Cardinals. 

Edited February 19 by Geographyhater8888

[Post Count Padder]

Solid B for me. I think If we had added more infield depth and a closer type for the pen, I'd have given an A. But overall I like what we did. I feel better about the team this spring than I did last year.

[BigbadB]

I give them an A. I really didn't think they would open the purse strings for someone like Bregman. I think they did more work to the bullpen than I would have predicted. I'm happy they didn't ship off Nico once again. I feel like they have good SP and BP depth, a solid hitting and fielding roster and and a good bench. 

This is a strong team to open the season with. I'd be surprised if anyone predicts a team other than the Cubs to win their division.