What Do the 2026 Chicago Cubs Still Need?

The hot stove is burning itself out in a blaze of glory. In the last week, a flurry of moves has drawn down the list of truly impactful free agents to just two or three names. Trades have sent frontline starters Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore and talented outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to new clubs. What was fluid for a long time appears increasingly concrete. The contenders and the pretenders are separating themselves much more clearly.

After their acquisitions of Edward Cabrera and Alex Bregman this month, the Cubs are very much on the contender side of the divide. However, they insist that they're not done tinkering with their roster, and indeed, we can survey the likely Opening Day corps and see places where upgrades are still possible. Here's how I'd rank the team's remaining needs, a few weeks out from the beginning of spring training.

1. A reliable left-handed batter, ideally with positional flexibility.
That's a lot to ask for, in the endgame of the offseason. Worse, the Cubs are likely to ask such a player to accept a roving role that comes up short of everyday playing time, so it's very hard to imagine them both acquiring such a player and keeping them happy. If it were possible, though, it would be awfully nice. Michael Busch is the only left-handed hitter on the roster who has proved he can consistently hammer right-handed pitching. Ian Happ is a de facto second threat, as a switch-hitter, but the uncertainty around Pete Crow-Armstrong and Moisés Ballesteros makes bringing in one more solid lefty bat somewhat important.

Don't expect that player to be Luis Arraez. He's still a free agent, but he has very little defensive utility and his game has become a caricature of itself at the plate. He never strikes out, but doesn't hit the ball hard very often, either. Switch-hitter Luis Rengifo could be in the right price range, coming off a disastrous walk year with the Angels after three good ones. He's always been a better hitter from the right side of the plate, though. A trade could unearth just the right player, like Luis García of the Nationals or Hyeseong Kim of the Dodgers, but it's easy to overpay when trying to fill a highly specific need in the trade market. Wary of that, Jed Hoyer and his team might elect to wait and see how urgent this need is come July, by which time enough progress from Ballesteros and/or Crow-Armstrong could obviate it.

2. One More Starter
This has been discussed at length in all corners of Cubdom over the last two weeks, but even with an ostensible six-man rotation and Javier Assad, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks able to start the season stretched out in Iowa, the team needs more quality depth in the rotation. That's why they're still interested in Zac Gallen, and will be only slightly less so in pitchers like Nick Martinez and Zack Littell if Gallen signs elsewhere. Injuries are coming for their incumbent starters.

Filling this need via trade would be optimal, again, because it would allow them to target a controllable hurler who can be optioned to the minors. If they can find an opportunity to get better and more left-handed on the bench, trading Matt Shaw for a starter who can start the season in the minors would be in play. The team now has three players (Kevin Alcántara, Justin Dean and newly signed Chas McCormick, coming to camp on a minor-league deal) vying for the backup outfielder slot on the roster. Shaw's work in the outfield in Arizona this month is for show, to keep him mollified and to entice potential trade partners.

3. High-Octane Bullpen Help
Though they're a bit roster-locked after signing four veterans to big-league deals and needing to stash Colin Rea in the pen for some stretches, the Cubs have depth and optionality in the bullpen. If they're going to make any further moves there, it should be for a no-doubt difference-maker, and it's not at all clear that such a player is available right now. The free-agent market for relievers has run dry, partially thanks to the Cubs. They have a bunch of optionable arms on the 40-man roster, and a bunch more interesting minor-league signees. Unless the Padres are desperate to clear some payroll and want to trade one of the electric arms in their bullpen, the Cubs should just roll into camp with what they have.

These needs don't mesh all that well with the market. What's available is more along the lines of positionless right-handed hitters like Miguel Andujar. The fact that he's available is the best reason anyone can muster for why the Cubs have been tied to him. He's not a fit for them. Nor are most of the low-wattage starters left out there. The Twins would like to trade lefty-batting Trevor Larnach, but he can only play left field or DH, so the Cubs would have to be very confident in Shaw as a multi-tool off the bench to deal for Larnach. The Giants keep calling about Nico Hoerner, but their offers aren't getting any better. 

It's probably true that the Cubs will make one or two more moves before spring training begins. The smart money, though, says that they'll be inconsequential, and probably unsuccessful. Chicago has had a good offseason. They might be out of ways to reasonably improve for 2026, without destabilizing the rest of what they've assembled.