Cubs Week In Review: Still No Bregman, Reliever Brasier Into the Fold, As Spring Training Begins

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As you read this, the Cubs' pitchers and catchers are rolling up to Sloan Park under the scorching, dry Arizona skies. Spring Training is underway, and the excitement of baseball is on the tip of our collective tongues like a shot of Jepson's Malort. Chase that thought with the reasonable playoff hopes this team holds in 2025. Even with Alex Bregman still a free agent, this Cubby squad is near-ready to take the field.

The Chicago Cubs, through all of our warranted qualms about them, are a pretty good ball club. But with Alex Bregman, the coveted free-agent infielder, the Cubs could be great. What would be even greater is if Scott Boras, the toughest of tough cookie agents, didn't represent the 30-year-old slugger. Now, the North Siders are certainly no strangers to dealing with Boras, with Cody Bellinger and his extremely player-friendly contracts with the Cubbies serving as the best example. But if this is to get done, the time is now. The North Side of Chicago, along with teams like the Tigers, are the most likely landing spots. The stunning late-season run the Tigers had in 2024 is proof enough that magic is on their side, and the Cubbies need him more, lest they find ways to pitch their way into the postseason.

On paper, arms like Ryan Pressly, Nate Pearson, and Eli Morgan make the Cubs' bullpen formidable, if not enviable. Add to that stable Ryan Brasier, whose former club, the Dodgers, and their glut of talent left him without a clear spot. At age 37, Brasier joins fellow Cub Pressly as relievers who need to win now to be useful, but he'll be plenty useful. Brasier establishes security at the closer role, once occupied by the tragic figure of the recently departed Adbert Alzolay. The Cubbies have a not insignificant number of arms to throw against their league rivals, and Brasier only adds to this formula.

Traditionally, and this is universally true, expectations lead to disappointment. We are, however, at the point in the season where the Cubs have yet to fall short of any goals they've set for themselves. This is the last recap loaded with such speculations for a while. The time to pontificate on the ramifications of real baseball is right now. To quote the late, great Steve Goodman, "Baseball season's underway."