Cubs Week In Review: With Small Pieces In Place, We Wait For One More Big Splash

By augmenting their roster with key pieces such as the newly-acquired, versatile Jon Berti, the Cubs are getting closer to ready for the curtain to rise on the 2025 MLB season.

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Even when they aren't merited, expectations always seem high for the North Siders. With one more big move, as some expect, perhaps those expectations would be more warranted this time around. In just two short weeks, we'll get our first look at how some of this team's pieces, big and small, mesh together.

With my Detroit Lions' Super Bowl dreams deferred for at least one more season, my thoughts about Feb. 9, 2025 have shifted to the start of Cubs spring training. Visions of what Kyle Tucker's bat will do to baseballs at Wrigley now have me feeling warmer than a midsummer Arizona sun, even in the depths of a Midwestern winter.

Through a week light on front office moves, what Craig Counsell's squad did this week was earnestly set their sights on prep for the upcoming season and an early date in Tokyo with the formidable Los Angeles Dodgers. One potential threat the Cubbies boast is a deceptively loaded bullpen. Last year's surprise standout Porter Hodge might have to do even more this season, as the bittersweet departure of Adbert Alzolay to the Mets all but guarantees that the Cubs former closer has hurled his last fastball over the plate in royal blue pinstripes. It's unlikely Alzolay will pitch this year, anyway, but if he does make it back from Tommy John surgery on a 12- or 13-month turnaround, he'll do so with the Mets, who envision him returning to starting in 2026 and offered him a two-year non-roster deal.

Meanwhile, the Cubs and Astros have an agreement on a trade that would send Ryan Pressly to Chicago, taking some of that pressure off the likes of Hodge, Tyson Miller, and Nate Pearson—but Pressly, who is a veteran with at least 10 years of service time and a five-year tenure on the Astros, has not yet decided whether he'll accede to the swap. That's the big pending question, as the Cubs also explore a few other potential relievers.

This is not meant to be an endorsement of anything Jed Hoyer is currently doing or has done in his tenure with Chicago's North Side baseball team, but after considerable time to reflect on what this pitching staff looks like right now, the strategy is clear: get the next guys ready. A veteran presence from guys like Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea, two pitchers with substantial experience, no doubt will provide tremendous insights and mentorship to pups like Cade Horton and Ben Brown. Although an exciting rookie season was truncated by injury in 2024, Brown possesses the stuff and the mindset to propel this club to the top of the National League Central, and maybe even make a run come October—even if Alex Bregman ends up somewhere other than The Friendly Confines.

Last week, I told you about the good vibes emanating from Wrigleyville. I don't think that can solely be attributed to the snazzy new "Blues" alternate uniforms the club recently debuted. This team has a nice lineup, its superstars seem happy now, and, barring an injury bug, they will have solid depth and upside when they arrive at camp next month.