Cubs Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[chibears55]

13 hours ago, Thusly Boned said:

Bregman may win the GG at 3B this year (tied for the lead in DRS at 3B), and Nico is Nico at 2B, so I don't see that happening in the short term.

If (when) Dansby's defense falls off (he's still a top 5-7 defensive SS, probably), you cross that bridge when you come to it. But I don't think we're at the precipice of that.

Wasn't saying this coming season, just maybe his last season or two if they feel its best for him and team.

[Geographyhater8888]

Swanson has been exactly what they paid for. Whether or not you think he was paid appropriately or you believe that war is overvaluing his defense is another subject, but he hasn’t underperformed like Heyward.

Edited yesterday at 12:48 PM by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

18 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

There just preparing for next season without Happ. It will now be Swanson who gets all the negative posts. 

Happ has always been counted to be the 2026 version of Seiya/Bregman/PCA, which was always unfair to him. He flew under the radar this year because the Cubs had 3 genuine run producers at the top of the order. It’s just too bad he never found that second gear to meet his 116 wRC+ quota. 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, Nolo said:

Circling back to Adrian Morejón, knowing our luck we would sign him and he will blow out his shoulder. He was unavailable game 2 and 3 for Padres against Milwaukee, the Padres have rode him HARD this year.

I’ll take the chance, dominant 27 y.o. left handed bulldog closer or high leverage guy. Padres don’t want to lose him but we should want him more. 

He was also pretty chronically injured before the last few years, and added a whole 2.5 MPH to his fastball this year.

I tend to be somewhat nihilistic towards pitcher injuries, but yeah even beyond general reliever risk Morejon seems pretty risky.

[Jason Ross]

57 minutes ago, Bertz said:

He was also pretty chronically injured before the last few years, and added a whole 2.5 MPH to his fastball this year.

I tend to be somewhat nihilistic towards pitcher injuries, but yeah even beyond general reliever risk Morejon seems pretty risky.

With the amount of pieces needed in the rotation and the offense (LF, RF, DH), I've come to an uneasy conclusion that the bullpen is probably the least of the concerns and that any improvement will have to be mostly internal. Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn and Rollison give you a decent foundation. Brown, Cabrera, Maton, Martin, Assad, Rea all give you some real questions but possible fillers with upside (though it differs from pitcher to pitcher what that upside is). Add in some waiver/DFA fodder and you're probably set. 

That's going to require some development from the team and some stabilization on these guys, as well. And that's the uneasy part. But this is probably a real "make it or break it" season for the Cubs' FO and developmental team and if they can't take "proof of concept" and turn it into "actual results" this year, it's probably time to consider a new direction regardless. 

[gflore34]

17 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

With the amount of pieces needed in the rotation and the offense (LF, RF, DH), I've come to an uneasy conclusion that the bullpen is probably the least of the concerns and that any improvement will have to be mostly internal. Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn and Rollison give you a decent foundation. Brown, Cabrera, Maton, Martin, Assad, Rea all give you some real questions but possible fillers with upside (though it differs from pitcher to pitcher what that upside is). Add in some waiver/DFA fodder and you're probably set. 

That's going to require some development from the team and some stabilization on these guys, as well. And that's the uneasy part. But this is probably a real "make it or break it" season for the Cubs' FO and developmental team and if they can't take "proof of concept" and turn it into "actual results" this year, it's probably time to consider a new direction regardless. 

Yes.  I think it's put up or shut up for Wiggins as well.  Have to get something out of him be it in the bullpen or rotation. 

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Yes.  I think it's put up or shut up for Wiggins as well.  Have to get something out of him be it in the bullpen or rotation. 

I disagree with that. Jaxon Wiggins is 25 years old and effectively missed just under a full-year of pitching development. From July 19th 2025 to July 3rds, 2026, he saw 34 IP, of which 9 were rehab appearances that weren't even in Iowa. He showed diminished velocity and control last year. The hope is that this was due to a combination of rust and returning from injury but it really could be that he just isn't going to be fixed.  

Instead of having to get something out of Wiggins, I'd change that to "anything they get out of Wiggins should be considered a win". Entering the year, the organization should have the expectation that Wiggins will provide zero innings for the Cubs. If he shows up to camp and blows their socks off, maybe he can force his way into the bullpen. Even so, sending a 25 year old pitcher who has missed the amount of time Wiggins has to Iowa for a bit is a good thing; it's probably a positive to see what his control looks like. 

Wiggins would be nice to have in 2027 somewhere, but isn't something I'm going to pin my hopes on, or really, pin my grade on the organization. It's really hard for any organization to take one individual pitcher and pin much on; they're really a numbers game. The organization has to show that they can take the 2026 draft class and develop it, as well as continue to develop what arms they have. But I won't force any specific pitcher into that.

[gflore34]

20 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I disagree with that. Jaxon Wiggins is 25 years old and effectively missed just under a full-year of pitching development. From July 19th 2025 to July 3rds, 2026, he saw 34 IP, of which 9 were rehab appearances that weren't even in Iowa. He showed diminished velocity and control last year. The hope is that this was due to a combination of rust and returning from injury but it really could be that he just isn't going to be fixed.  

Instead of having to get something out of Wiggins, I'd change that to "anything they get out of Wiggins should be considered a win". Entering the year, the organization should have the expectation that Wiggins will provide zero innings for the Cubs. If he shows up to camp and blows their socks off, maybe he can force his way into the bullpen. Even so, sending a 25 year old pitcher who has missed the amount of time Wiggins has to Iowa for a bit is a good thing; it's probably a positive to see what his control looks like. 

Wiggins would be nice to have in 2027 somewhere, but isn't something I'm going to pin my hopes on, or really, pin my grade on the organization. It's really hard for any organization to take one individual pitcher and pin much on; they're really a numbers game. The organization has to show that they can take the 2026 draft class and develop it, as well as continue to develop what arms they have. But I won't force any specific pitcher into that.

Much more reasonable, think my haste is a result of the plethora of injuries and having to deal with them non-stop getting tiresome.  It's a good thing I'm not calling the shots.

[macarthur31]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

With the amount of pieces needed in the rotation and the offense (LF, RF, DH), I've come to an uneasy conclusion that the bullpen is probably the least of the concerns and that any improvement will have to be mostly internal. Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn and Rollison give you a decent foundation. Brown, Cabrera, Maton, Martin, Assad, Rea all give you some real questions but possible fillers with upside (though it differs from pitcher to pitcher what that upside is). Add in some waiver/DFA fodder and you're probably set. 

That's going to require some development from the team and some stabilization on these guys, as well. And that's the uneasy part. But this is probably a real "make it or break it" season for the Cubs' FO and developmental team and if they can't take "proof of concept" and turn it into "actual results" this year, it's probably time to consider a new direction regardless. 

Unsure if its a numbers game, but it seems that every year the "Pitch Lab" scores a reclamation win:  Lopez and Miller in '24, Keller in '25, Rolison and Webb in '26.  Hoping that Roli and Webb can stay steady, but assuming they can unearth another one, (Or perhaps Maton is that reclamation project?) then I align with bullpen being a lower priority to SP, Corner OF and possibly power upgrade at 1B? (I like Busch, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jed is looking for proven 30 HR power at that spot)

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, macarthur31 said:

Unsure if its a numbers game, but it seems that every year the "Pitch Lab" scores a reclamation win:  Lopez and Miller in '24, Keller in '25, Rolison and Webb in '26.  Hoping that Roli and Webb can stay steady, but assuming they can unearth another one, (Or perhaps Maton is that reclamation project?) then I align with bullpen being a lower priority to SP, Corner OF and possibly power upgrade at 1B? (I like Busch, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jed is looking for proven 30 HR power at that spot)

I think it's partly a numbers game and partly that I'm not 100% sure this organization is "bad" at pitching development but I'm not convinced they're good enough, either. I think the narrative of "the Cubs can't develop pitchers" is probably too far, and I see that pretty often. Jaxon Wiggins got hurt and didn't really progress last year, but Brooks Caple and Mason McGwire took real steps forward (obviously McGwire was then traded). The year prior we saw Sean Gallagher and Jaxon Wiggins take steps forward. We saw Andrew Kittredge take steps forward post TDL last year and Clay Holmes take steps backwards this year. It feels like a bit of "column A" and a bit from "column B" every time you slice it up. The argument of they "can't" never pans out because if they couldn't at all, we wouldn't see this.

Ultimately, it feels more akin to the numbers game overall, some bad variance and luck, and probably a bit of the turnover from Breslow to Zombro. And it really may be more "they just aren't good enough" at it (which is a different issue and I'd argue if that's the case than "not good enough" isn't good enough for the Cubs). 

As it pertains to Busch, I think there is a very, very small chance that with the other shopping they have that they move on from Busch at 1b. He's controlled, cheap, and available. I think he probably changed his swing a little too much to help him hit LHP last year and that they will tweak that into the previous direction. But adding 1b to the LF, RF, DH, SP quagmire of needs isn't likely going to be a good outcome. And I also don't think you're going to find many situations where you're trading Busch off of what would look like a "down year" at 1b for some magical upgrade at a more premium position to be a likely outcome.  

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

With the amount of pieces needed in the rotation and the offense (LF, RF, DH), I've come to an uneasy conclusion that the bullpen is probably the least of the concerns and that any improvement will have to be mostly internal. Palencia, Webb, Zeferjahn and Rollison give you a decent foundation. Brown, Cabrera, Maton, Martin, Assad, Rea all give you some real questions but possible fillers with upside (though it differs from pitcher to pitcher what that upside is). Add in some waiver/DFA fodder and you're probably set. 

That's going to require some development from the team and some stabilization on these guys, as well. And that's the uneasy part. But this is probably a real "make it or break it" season for the Cubs' FO and developmental team and if they can't take "proof of concept" and turn it into "actual results" this year, it's probably time to consider a new direction regardless. 

Yeah I wouldn't throw major resources at the pen.  The three back-end guys are legit good.  Rolison/Maton/Miller is probably a fine middle relief crew.  And I expect us to do two long relief guys which will round out the pen.

And then Iowa actually has some depth.  Matchup types like Ferguson and Hollowelll and Kelly, young SPs who will likely break into MLB via the pen (Wiggins, Sanders, etc.), plus promising injury returnees in Hodge and Riley Martin.

If the team has more money to spend than I expect then certainly add someone.  But otherwise just do your typical waiver roulette stuff and save your dollars for (primarily) the rotation.

[Jason Ross]

11 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Yeah I wouldn't throw major resources at the pen.  The three back-end guys are legit good.  Rolison/Maton/Miller is probably a fine middle relief crew.  And I expect us to do two long relief guys which will round out the pen.

And then Iowa actually has some depth.  Matchup types like Ferguson and Hollowelll and Kelly, young SPs who will likely break into MLB via the pen (Wiggins, Sanders, etc.), plus promising injury returnees in Hodge and Riley Martin.

If the team has more money to spend than I expect then certainly add someone.  But otherwise just do your typical waiver roulette stuff and save your dollars for (primarily) the rotation.

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2026/10/07/farewell-owen-miller-antoine-kelly-and-corbin-martin/

Just happened to catch this one come across my feed. Kelly was released today outright. 

But yeah, I think that's where I'm at on the pen myself. It was frustrating a lot of the time in 2026, but I think heading into 2027, it's in a pretty fine place. They have plenty to do elsewhere than to spend too much worry on the pen. 

[chibears55]

28 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Much more reasonable, think my haste is a result of the plethora of injuries and having to deal with them non-stop getting tiresome.  It's a good thing I'm not calling the shots.

Doesn't help when over the last few years we had high expectations for a couple pitching prospects that got bitten by injuries.

Marquez, and Alzolay and more recently Horton, Birdsell, and Wiggins.

Probably add Steele too.

So much promise there

 

[gflore34]

2 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Doesn't help when over the last few years we had high expectations for a couple pitching prospects that got bitten by injuries.

Marquez, and Alzolay and more recently Horton, Birdsell, and Wiggins.

Probably add Steele too.

So much promise there

 

The Cubs have a recent run of terrible injury luck, unusually so.  Might be taking chances on guys with extensive injury history that has come back to bite them.  But that doesn't explain all the guys without injury histories dropping like flies as well.

[Bertz]

11 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2026/10/07/farewell-owen-miller-antoine-kelly-and-corbin-martin/

Just happened to catch this one come across my feed. Kelly was released today outright. 

But yeah, I think that's where I'm at on the pen myself. It was frustrating a lot of the time in 2026, but I think heading into 2027, it's in a pretty fine place. They have plenty to do elsewhere than to spend too much worry on the pen. 

Interesting.  I would have thought Kelly warranted a 40 man spot, especially since he still has an option.

Not going to get too worked up about roster minutiae this winter though, the (likely) lack of a Rule 5 draft changes the game pretty significantly 

[Jason Ross]

On the topic of pitching development, The Athletic and Sharma has an article today over Edward Cabrera and his struggles. For those with a subscription, you can view it here.

If you don't, here are a few things from the article.

- Cabrera's blister issues are seemingly the reason for the backslide on the curveball shape. 

- The velocity drop was due to bad mechanics. The Cubs noticed and fixed these. His velocity rebounded because of it.

- Team thought they could get through the blister issues but they kept coming back and it became a pitch he really couldn't use.

- Organization believes it was a blip and that not only would that be cool with 2025-Ed they think there's more there. 

[Derwood]

Can the pitching lab fix his FB to Changeup velocity ratio? A 4-5 mph difference isn't enough to be effective

[chibears55]

On 10/6/2026 at 10:23 AM, Nolo said:

The idea was to free up salary to have breathing room to acquire a high end bullpen guy like Morejon or a solid 1-2 starter but the more I talk it out the less I like the idea of it. We should have the money to acquire these guys nonetheless if Hoyer is actually a serious person.

If they had a kid ready to take over like say 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 Rojas lol...

Swanson has a full no trade clause,  unlikely he'll allow a trade 

Edited 21 hours ago by chibears55

[Nolo]

I disagree with the sentiment that our bullpen is “good” as far as 2027. Look at these playoff games right now, every reliever is nasty. 100 mph sinkers, devastating sliders, painting fastballs. Real leverage guys, real closers. The Cubs did not and would not have fit in this years playoffs. 

I like Palencia and Zeferjahn, I feel good about them being on a big stage, but who’s our closer for 2027? Let’s say one of them becomes closer, okay so now we only have one setup guy who has 100 mph stuff? I think Webb did great for a bit but I don’t trust him as the 2027 closer. He’s too soft. Cubs need to add at least one more key piece to the bullpen with nasty stuff — if not Morejón then someone like him. But Morejón as a high leverage lefty or even the closer is just what this pen needs to complement the other promising pieces.

[mk49]

3 minutes ago, Nolo said:

I disagree with the sentiment that our bullpen is “good” as far as 2027. Look at these playoff games right now, every reliever is nasty. 100 mph sinkers, devastating sliders, painting fastballs. Real leverage guys, real closers. The Cubs did not and would not have fit in this years playoffs. 

r 2027? Let’s say one of them becomes closer, okay so now we only have one setup guy who has 100 mph stuff? I think Webb did great for a bit but I don’t trust him as the 2027 closer. He’s tooI like Palencia and Zeferjahn, I feel good about them being on a big stage, but who’s our closer fo soft. Cubs need to add at least one more key piece to the bullpen with nasty stuff — if not Morejón then someone like him. But Morejón as a high leverage lefty or even the closer is just what this pen needs to complement the other promising pieces.

Just compare our pen to the SP's, I feel a lot better about the pen.

[chibears55]

21 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

The Cubs have a recent run of terrible injury luck, unusually so.  Might be taking chances on guys with extensive injury history that has come back to bite them.  But that doesn't explain all the guys without injury histories dropping like flies as well.

I remember years ago my stepdad once told me when we started seeing players from basketball, baseball, and football start getting more hamstring, arms, muscle related injuries. he said this could be happening more now because these kids are focused more on getting bigger,  faster, and stronger with weight training in offseason and during then in the past, where it was more stretching, aerobics,  and running.

Not saying its the reason but makes you wonder sometimes 

[chibears55]

9 minutes ago, mk49 said:

Just compare our pen to the SP's, I feel a lot better about the pen.

That isnt saying much lol

[chibears55]

16 minutes ago, Nolo said:

I disagree with the sentiment that our bullpen is “good” as far as 2027. Look at these playoff games right now, every reliever is nasty. 100 mph sinkers, devastating sliders, painting fastballs. Real leverage guys, real closers. The Cubs did not and would not have fit in this years playoffs. 

I like Palencia and Zeferjahn, I feel good about them being on a big stage, but who’s our closer for 2027? Let’s say one of them becomes closer, okay so now we only have one setup guy who has 100 mph stuff? I think Webb did great for a bit but I don’t trust him as the 2027 closer. He’s too soft. Cubs need to add at least one more key piece to the bullpen with nasty stuff — if not Morejón then someone like him. But Morejón as a high leverage lefty or even the closer is just what this pen needs to complement the other promising pieces.

I dont know about good, they definitely need help, especially for the late innings. 

Rolison,  Zeferjahn,  and Palencia is a good start

[mk49]

4 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

That isnt saying much lol

I agree with you, and nobody is saying the pen is good.  But, we have a bigger thing (signing SP's) to deal with before start looking for Morejon or whoever.

[Bertz]

33 minutes ago, Nolo said:

I disagree with the sentiment that our bullpen is “good” as far as 2027. Look at these playoff games right now, every reliever is nasty. 100 mph sinkers, devastating sliders, painting fastballs. Real leverage guys, real closers. The Cubs did not and would not have fit in this years playoffs. 

I like Palencia and Zeferjahn, I feel good about them being on a big stage, but who’s our closer for 2027? Let’s say one of them becomes closer, okay so now we only have one setup guy who has 100 mph stuff? I think Webb did great for a bit but I don’t trust him as the 2027 closer. He’s too soft. Cubs need to add at least one more key piece to the bullpen with nasty stuff — if not Morejón then someone like him. But Morejón as a high leverage lefty or even the closer is just what this pen needs to complement the other promising pieces.

The tradeoff to signing a guy like Morejon for the pen is having a guy like Rea in the rotation even before there's an injury.