Andrew Wright

We are just 10 short days away from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs kicking off their two-game, season-opening series in Tokyo. When that does happen, though, it looks like the Cubs' ace will be ready. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Shota Imanaga will be looking to one-up himself this year, after a phenomenal rookie season. The left-hander went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA across 173 innings last year. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting and fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and will now try and build on that—or at least maintain it. That won't be easy, as the league now has a full season's worth of film on him, and he will have to adjust to hitters adjusting to him. His 4.05 ERA in Spring Training may look bad on the surface and inspire some concern, but when diving deep into it, we see that it isn't anything to be concerned about. Imanaga gave up three runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings in his first start of the spring against the Giants. Two of those three runs came on a two-run home run from Casey Schmitt. There were two extremely positive things to take away from that first outing. First was the fact that six of the eight outs recorded by Imanaga were strikeouts. Even though he gave up the long ball, the strikeout stuff was still there. Secondly, he was extremely efficient, throwing 26 of his 33 pitches for strikes. Being in the zone that much means you are pitching to contact; hence the three hits given up. His second start of the spring was much better, as he went four shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out three batters. Admittedly, it was a Padres lineup that did not feature any of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill or Jake Cronenworth, so he was facing most of the San Diego reserves. Nonetheless, it was a major-league lineup with MLB-caliber players that he made quick and easy work of. Imanaga will likely make one more start during the spring, before getting the ball on Opening Day for Chicago. That last spring start will see him stretched out (maybe to five innings) in preparation for the season. If the Cubs can get the same type of season from him in 2025 as they did in 2024, Chicago may very well have its next ace, and their 1-2 punch (with Justin Steele) could be one of the best starting pitching duos in all of baseball. View full article

The entire offseason for the Chicago Cubs felt like it revolved around whether Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw would be the starting second baseman on Opening Day. The trade rumors were swirling surrounding Hoerner, and we were all but certain that he would be moved. Now, it appears the status quo has won out. Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images Note that we're operating under the assumption in this piece that Matt Shaw will not be making the trip to Japan. If he's healthy, he'll certainly be the starter at second base. With news that Nico Hoerner will not be making the trip overseas and will stay back in the states and continue to work his way back from injury and prepare for Chicago's first road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, that begs the question of: who in the world is going to play second on Opening Day? Well, quite frankly, nobody really knows, and we won't know until the end of Spring Training. Chicago has quite a few options in what it could possibly do, and the rest of the spring will reveal that. Here are all of manager Craig Counsell's assumed options: Gage Workman, Jon Berti, James Triantos, Nicky Lopez (NRI) Those four are more than likely going to be competing for the second and third base positions come Opening Day. They also are probably all competing for the opening at third base as well, and the top-two performers will see the majority of the playing time over the two games in Japan. As to what can be expected from each, let's dig into it. Berti is the veteran of the group, as 2025 will mark his eighth season in the MLB. He is a career .259 hitter, and he is hoping to spend more time on the field this season than he did in 2024, when he appeared in just 25 games for the New York Yankees. Berti has played every position on the diamond except for pitcher and catcher, and his versatility was a big part of the reason he earned a one-year, $3 million contract from Chicago in the offseason. He would bring the most experience to a position that will see a lot of action in Tokyo when ground-ball pitchers Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele toe the rubber. Workman was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Cubs and must remain on the 26-man roster or else he will be returned to his previous team (assuming the Detroit Tigers want him back). He started Spring Training with a bang, going 3-for-5 with a home run in his first two games. He has kept that pace up, with a 1.059 OPS through 23 at-bats as of March 4. Of all the options available, he is currently the most likely to play third base instead of second, as third is his natural position, but the possibility of Justin Turner playing third base could mean Workman starts the year on the bench. Triantos' spring is off to a middling start. He is 3-for-15 at the plate with three RBIs and his OPS sits at just .502, quite a bit below his career average of .766 in the minor leagues. He is the No. 73 ranked prospect in MLB.com's rankings, and his MLB debut feels imminent. He will need to increase his production the rest of the way in the spring and if he does, we could very well see him take his first big league at-bats against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the middle of March. Lopez is a local kid that is a fun story for Cubs fans and he's easy to root for. He is an NRI (non-roster invite) and is certainly making the most of it, as he is 9-for-18 in Spring Training with an OPS of 1.202. It would certainly be hard for Lopez to replicate those numbers for the rest of the spring, but if he does, the choice for second base will not be a hard one to make at all. The one downside to losing Hoerner for a couple games is losing his Gold Glove caliber defense. None of the four guys are that quality of a defender at any position, and that may be costly in a couple of close games. Chicago should be able to manage the two-game series in Tokyo and then be at full strength with Hoerner and Shaw when the team travels to Arizona to fully kick off its 2025 season. View full article

Chicago Cubs fans have been awaiting a superstar-caliber player to insert into the lineup and potentially help put them over the top. The offseason gave them just that as they acquired right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Tucker will now be the everyday right fielder and headline one of the most stacked positions in the game. Image courtesy of © Erik Williams-Imagn Images Kyle Tucker is, in no uncertain terms, the superstar that the Cubs have needed. In just 78 games in 2024, Tucker hit 23 home runs and drove in 49 runs. He finished with a .993 OPS, which would have been first among right fielders if Tucker had enough at-bats to qualify. He will now head into 2025 fully healthy and hoping to replicate what he did in 2024 over a full season. Seiya Suzuki has served as Chicago's primary right fielder over the past three seasons. Bad defense and an injury in 2024 saw Suzuki serve as the DH when he returned to the lineup, as Cody Bellinger slid over to play right field for the remainder of the season following the emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong (a vastly superior defender to Suzuki) in center. The Cubs were eighth among MLB teams in 2024 in Wins Above Average (0.7) from the right fielders, while the Astros ranked second. That included statistics from Suzuki, Bellinger, Mike Tauchman, Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario, Patrick Wisdom and Miles Mastrobuoni. Of course, only Suzuki and Alcántara remain from that group in 2025, though Tucker should help stabilize the turnover at the position. Defensively, Tucker ranked sixth among right fielders in defensive runs saved (DRS) with seven in just 592 innings played. Meanwhile, Suzuki was No. 20 on the list with just three total runs saved. As such, Tucker will be both an offensive and defensive upgrade in right field for the Cubs in 2025. Suzuki will still get his fair share of games in right field when Tucker needs a day off his feet. Along with Suzuki, there is the potential for Alcántara to spend time in right field if he is able to crack the Opening Day roster — and even if he doesn't, he'll serve as the next-man up while gathering more seasoning at Triple-A. As long as both are fully healthy, the split in games between Suzuki and Tucker in right field should be somewhere in the 120/40 range, with Tucker getting the majority of the playing time. If all goes well and Tucker is able to replicate what he did in his limited playing time in 2024, he'll be on the brink of a very large payday in the offseason. At that point, the Cubs would need to do whatever it took to bring him back to Chicago for the 2026 season and beyond. View full article

Did you know a jaguar's roar is called a "saw", because it sounds like the bite and sing of a blade through wood? Pretty soon, we're going to need a similarly evocative new name for the sound of the bite and sing of The Jaguar's bat through the baseball. Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Kevin Alcántara made his MLB debut in 2024, but he collected just one hit in 10 at-bats. Spring training 2025 has been a much different story. In 11 at-bats so far this spring, Alcántara boasts a .545 batting average, with an OPS of 1.272 and four runs driven in. He has collected not only a hit, but also an RBI, in every single game. He's been everywhere, with two doubles, a stolen base, and four runs scored. A hot week in the desert won't be enough to knock down the door to the big leagues. The Cubs have a loaded outfield at the major-league level, with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker. Seiya Suzuki is technically the "fourth outfielder"; he will serve as the primary DH. Alcántara won't be placed on the roster to begin the season as a mere supplement to them; the reps he can get in Iowa are much more valuable to the team. Nonetheless, this laser show has been eye-opening. Alcántara took a high, two-strike fastball all the way to the right field fence in Monday's game against the Padres, with an exit velocity of 104.4 miles per hour. He hasn't come by his results cheaply, and if he keeps this up all spring, he'll force the issue for the team sooner than expected. MnJWTVBfWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFKVVZBSU1WRlFBRFZCVFZ3QUFWd0JXQUZnSEFWQUFVd1lGQWxVQVZ3VlJBVlpU.mp4 That still won't mean bringing him along to Tokyo for the season-opening series against the Dodgers. As the hype builds, though, so will the pressure to find a way to fit him into the roster picture soon. These aren't quite true big-league reps, but it can only benefit Alcántara to stay with the parent club and continue to build confidence in this preseason setting. Sometime this season, he'll return to the majors, and the Cubs need him to be ready. If he can do anything like what we've seen so far, he could have a transformational impact on the team's playoff odds. View full article

Miguel Amaya has reverse splits, so he is going to play against righties and Carson Kelly kills left-handed pitching so he will play against lefties. PCA needs to play every day to get as much experience and exposure as possible. Jon Berti should never be the leadoff hitter on a team trying to compete for and win a division title.

Signing the hirsute veteran makes all the Cubs' likely combinations of positions and batting order slots a bit more appealing. How often will he play, though—and where will he best bolster the existing lineup? Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images In response to losing out in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes, the Chicago Cubs signed Justin Turner to a one-year deal worth $6 million this week. It's expected that Turner will serve as the backup first baseman to Michael Busch, and may also get some occasional starts as the Cubs DH. With Turner presumably backing up Busch at first, it may turn into a platoon situation in which Busch plays against right-handed pitching and Turner plays against lefties. If that is the case, here is a look at what both of those starting lineups could look like for the Cubs. VS. RHP Ian Happ - LF Michael Busch - 1B Seiya Suzuki - DH Kyle Tucker - RF Dansby Swanson - SS Nico Hoerner - 2B Pete Crow-Armstrong - CF Matt Shaw - 3B Miguel Amaya - C The order of the players could be switched around in any variation that manager Craig Counsell thinks will work for his team, but those are the nine players who are expected to be in the lineup most days when facing a right-hander. The lineup against a lefty will look a bit different, VS. LHP Nico Hoerner - 2B Ian Happ - LF Seiya Suzuki - DH Kyle Tucker - RF Justin Turner - 1B Dansby Swanson - SS Pete Crow-Armstrong - CF Matt Shaw - 3B Carson Kelly - C Once again, the order of those nine can be switched around and maneuvered any different way you'd like, but the depth of the lineup with it being arranged the way it is looks extremely promising. Turner and Kelly are the two primary players expected to join the lineup against southpaws. Yes, we all want to see Michael Busch get an opportunity to play against left-handers sometimes, but it will be hard to keep Turner's career .275 average against lefties out of the mix. The most likely outcome for both Busch and Turner to be in the lineup together would be when Tucker or Happ needs a day off. That would see Suzuki going to the outfield, Turner at DH and Busch playing first base. That could happen against either a right-hander or a left-hander. Besides playing first base against a lefty, Turner will be Counsell's go-to pinch hitter late in games. Whether that be for Busch or even PCA, he will see plenty of pinch-hit appearances throughout the season. He is certainly no longer in his prime, but Turner is still a good baseball player, and he may very well help the 2025 Chicago Cubs get back to the postseason for the first time since 2020. View full article

For the first time since 2011, the Chicago Cubs will begin their season without a member of the 2016 World Series team on the Opening Day roster. Thus, this spring will mark a transition to a new era. As we venture into it, let's check in on the whereabouts of the Curse-breaker diaspora. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images AL East: Aroldis Chapman (BOS), Rob Zastryzny (NYY) Chapman has bounced around MLB the last two seasons, spending time with the Royals and Rangers in 2023 and the Pirates in 2024. He signed a one-year deal worth $10.75 million with the Red Sox this offseason and will join the seventh team of his MLB career. Zastryzny was the last hope, in a way, having been claimed on waivers after a meander through a few other rosters—up until last week, when he was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees. There was never really a world where Zastryzny would make the Opening Day roster, so it was good to see him go try and earn an opportunity elsewhere, AL Central: Javier Báez (DET) The downfall of Báez since his arrival in Detroit has been upsetting for most Cubs fans, who remember the electric player he was in his time in a Cubs uniform. His energy and charisma are unmatched. Hopefully (though not probably), he will be able to turn it around in 2025 and have a solid season. AL West: Kyle Hendricks (LAA), Jorge Soler (LAA) Hendricks was the last remaining member of the World Series roster to spend time with the Chicago. A rough stretch over the last few years made it easy to move on and allow him to seek out other opportunities, in hopes of finishing his career on the right note. Soler has done quite a bit over his career, including winning the 2021 World Series MVP with the team who plays in suburban Cobb County, Ga. A solid season in Anaheim will make him a prime trade candidate come late July (for about the hundredth time). NL East: Kyle Schwarber (PHI), Albert Almora Jr. (MIA) Schwarber has long been considered the "one that got away" from Chicago. He's been phenomenal since leaving, with his blend of power and patience adding up to make him one of the best leadoff men in baseball. Almora has not seen a pitch in the majors since 2022, but he will have an opportunity to change that, after signing with the Miami Marlins on a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. A good spring for Almora could see him make the Opening Day roster for a very bad Marlins team. NL Central: Willson Contreras (STL) Contreras will begin his third season in St. Louis in 2025, and it will come at a new position. After years of frustration with his defense, the Cardinals have decided to move Contreras to first base full-time. There have been trade talks surrounding Contreras his entire Cardinals career, so a solid season and a down year for St. Louis may mean they will look to move off of Contreras's contract. For that matter, they offered him that chance in the fall, but he elected to stay put for now. NL West: Kris Bryant (COL), Jason Heyward (SDP) Much like Báez, Bryant's time with his new team has been extremely unfortunate. Bryant has appeared in just 159 of a possible 486 games in his Rockies career. When he is on the field, he's not producing, finishing with batting averages of .233 and .218 in the last two seasons. Heyward, on the other hand, has bounced around a bit the last couple years, spending time with the Dodgers and Astros before signing with San Diego just last week. Heyward is certainly nearing the end of his career, and a good season with San Diego may see him call it a career after the season. A bad season might take the choice out of his hands. Free Agents: Anthony Rizzo Rizzo is still looking for a place to call home in 2025, and here's to hoping he finds one and rejuvenates his career after an injury-riddled stint with the Yankees. Most of the rest of the team (David Ross, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, Pedro Strop, Ben Zobrist, Chris Coghlan, Dexter Fowler, Miguel Montero and more) are now retired. It's a stark reminder: that season was a long time ago, already. The Cubs haven't mounted any serious threat to return to the Fall Classic since 2017. Maybe this season will change that. View full article

With a strong top half of the lineup set and a veteran pitching staff reinforced with better depth, the 2025 Cubs have undeniable upside—more than they've had in years. Much of that rising hope, however, rests on the high-stakes bet the team has semi-accidentally placed on their rookie third baseman. Image courtesy of © Cody Scanlan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / © Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK Yes, it may seem like a lot to put the team's success on the back of Matt Shaw, a player who will probably make his MLB debut in just over a month, but he is a bit of an outlier. The hype around Shaw's emergence is extremely real, and the expectations will be higher than normal for the beginning of an MLB career. To understand why, it's important to remember that Shaw is a career .303 hitter in the minor leagues, with an OBP of .384 and a .522 slugging average. Shaw has socked 29 home runs in 693 plate appearances across all minor-league levels. In his 2024 season, he hit 21 homers, stole 31 bases and played solid defense around the infield, with over 550 innings at third base and over 200 apiece at each middle-infield spot. He also dominated the Premier12 tournament as a member of Team USA this fall, with a 1.206 OPS in nine games. That he went there instead of creating a more traditional showcase for himself in the Arizona Fall League is a testament to his willingness to get out of his comfort zone, and he drew rave reviews for his eagerness to soak up new information during the one-month international sojourn. Since the departure of Kris Bryant (and even prior thereto, at times), Chicago has struggled with production from third basemen. Just think about some names that have spent time at the hot corner since 2020: Isaac Paredes, Patrick Wisdom, Christopher Morel, Nick Madrigal, David Bote, Jonathan Villar, and many more. It's a position that has lacked productivity and stability, and Shaw will have the opportunity to provide for 2025 and beyond. With moves made throughout the offseason, the Cubs signaled that they believed in Shaw and his ability to produce right away in the big leagues. They dealt Paredes, and were ready to trade Nico Hoerner in response to the possibility of signing Alex Bregman—although that would have been fueled as much by financial constraints as by faith in their top prospect. The signs have been out in the open air all offseason. Shaw will be on the big-league roster fairly soon, if not right away, and he's expected to be a major contributor to the 2025 Chicago Cubs. Though the need for big adjustments looms, Shaw does have two-way upside. He might be a sufficiently adroit hitter to be above-average at the plate right away, and he might just be an above-average third baseman, despite only moving to that position in earnest last year. With the Cubs trying to get to the 90-win mark for the first time since 2018, Shaw's production will be enormously important. If the top prospect in the Chicago system can put together a solid rookie season, we may very well be watching playoff baseball at Wrigley Field for the first time in what has felt like forever. View full article

It's that time of year again when the MLB begins to release its Top 100 Players List across social media platforms, getting the baseball world talking about who is ranked too high, too low, or just right. The Chicago Cubs were a popular team to appear on the graphics, with six players ranked on the list. Let's do a quick breakdown of who they were and where they were ranked. Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Here is the complete list of MLB's Top 100 Players. Dansby Swanson: Rank - 93 Swanson has fallen out of good graces with the folks who make this list, as he was ranked No. 39 just two seasons ago, and he now finds himself almost entirely off the list. Swanson has struggled with injuries since joining the Cubs, but he is highly optimistic and confident that 2025 is the healthiest he's been in a long time, and he is primed for a career season. Ian Happ: Rank - 92 Happ joins the Top 100 list for the first time in his career, one spot above his teammate. Happ's career highs in home runs (25) and RBI (86) had an impact on him joining the list. His third consecutive gold glove in 2024 also played a part in being considered a Top 100 player in the game. Justin Steele: Rank - 88 Steele was No. 64 before last season and fell 24 spots after a confusing 2024 campaign. He finished with a 5-5 record but had an ERA of just 3.07. Steele threw the ball extremely well, but he could just not get the winning decision. He earned his first win of the season in July when he threw a complete game against the Angels. Steele will certainly look to bounce back and have a Cy-Young-type season like the one he had in 2023. Seiya Suzuki: Rank - 73 Suzuki is the first member of the list to make a jump upward from last season, climbing 11 spots. He hit a career-high 21 home runs and had a career-high OPS of .848. 2025 will be an important season for the slugger out of Japan, as he will transition from an everyday right fielder to an everyday designated hitter. Shota Imanaga: Rank - 64 Imanaga may have very well been Chicago's best player in 2024. His first season in MLB went much better than anyone could've thought, and he has a chance in 2025 to cement himself as the new ace of the Cubs pitching staff. A 1-2 punch of Imanaga and Steele at the top of the rotation could be a scary sight for any team in the regular season and postseason. Kyle Tucker: Rank - 14 Finally, the Cubs have their superstar and a Top 20 player in baseball. Tucker is the highest-ranked Cubs player on the list; the last time Chicago had a top-25 talent on the list, Javier Baez was No. 23 prior to the 2020 season. Tucker will be the third-ranked right fielder, behind only Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. If Tucker produces the way everyone hopes he will, the Cubs will need to do everything in their power to ensure he is in Chicago for the long term. View full article

I think Steele is certainly still an "ace" I do agree that this collective group should be able to cut down on the bullpen meltdowns of last season and this team could very well get to 90 wins.

It has been almost a month since we made our first roster projection for the 2025 Cubs' Opening Day roster, and there have been a few moves that will both minorly and majorly impact the roster. With the team playing their first spring training game in just 10 days, here is the second version of a 2025 roster projection. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Obviously, many Cubs fans are still hoping for further reinforcements of the current roster. Even as things stand, though, they look poised to contend. Here's the group most likely to break camp and head to Japan next month, if nothing changes between now and then. Pitchers (13) SP: Justin Steele SP: Shota Imanaga SP: Jameson Taillon SP: Matthew Boyd SP: Colin Rea RP: Ryan Brasier RP: Ryan Pressly RP: Porter Hodge RP: Tyson Miller RP: Caleb Thielbar RP: Julian Merryweather RP: Eli Morgan RP: Nate Pearson Chicago has an absurd amount of pitching depth, making it tough to leave off guys such as Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Luke Little and Ben Brown. All of those pitchers will more than likely start the year in Iowa, where the Iowa Cubs will have one of the most loaded pitching staffs in all of Minor League Baseball—although Assad has no sooner reported to camp than headed for an MRI on his oblique. This list could fluctuate and change with performances by certain guys this spring, but as for now, this is our best guess as to who will be on the Opening Day pitching staff. Catchers (2) Miguel Amaya Carson Kelly Nothing has changed at the catcher position since our first roster projection. It is still expected that Amaya will start games behind the plate when the Cubs are facing most righties, and Kelly will get the nod when facing a lefty. Infielders (6) 1B: Michael Busch 2B: Nico Hoerner SS: Dansby Swanson 3B: Matt Shaw UTL: Jon Berti UTL: Gage Workman The rumors surrounding Alex Bregman signing with Chicago have been swirling since last week, but since he has still not made a decision, he can't be put on this roster projection. If you recall, in late December, Chicago acquired utility man Vidal Bruján from the Marlins in exchange for once-promising prospect Matt Mervis. With the addition of Berti in free agency and Workman having to be returned to the Tigers if he does not start the season on the roster, though, it feels like Bruján will be waived. Outfielders (5) LF: Ian Happ CF: Pete Crow-Armstrong RF: Kyle Tucker DH/OF: Seiya Suzuki OF: Alexander Canario Nothing has changed in the outfield landscape for Chicago. Manager Craig Counsell has made it known publicly that Suzuki will spend most of his 2025 season as the Cubs' designated hitter. Canario is still expected to start on the major-league roster, as he is out of minor-league options and the team lacks another clear option for that roster spot. A Bregman signing in the coming days could reshape the roster, if Chicago were to reel him in and/or move on from Hoerner. There may be tweaks to the pitching staff, but as of now, this is our best guess at the 26-man Opening Day roster for the Cubs. View full article

The talk of the Cubs world the last three days has been the possibility of signing former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. If they do complete the blockbuster signing, can they also find a way to keep their stalwart second baseman? Image courtesy of Norm Hall/Getty Images Rumors have been swirling regarding what they Cubs have offered Alex Bregman, which other teams are in the mix, and what Bregman and his camp prefer in a contract. Another rumor that has gained steam is that the Cubs will be looking to move off of second baseman Nico Hoerner if they do sign Bregman. Trading Hoerner after a Bregman signing would be a mistake and here's a few reasons why. The first reason for needing to keep Hoerner is that he brings too much value to too many places to just ship away and let a prospect play over him. Hoerner is a career .278 hitter with a .338 career on-base percentage. Hoerner is in the 99th percentile in strikeout rate, striking out in just 10.3% of his plate appearances last season. The Cubs were 17th in offensive strikeouts in 2024, and that would more than likely be worse with the departure of Hoerner. Hoerner had a bit of a down season in 2024, when he posted his worst OPS since 2020 (.708), but there is little reason to believe that a bounce back is not on the horizon. Defensively, Hoerner won a Gold Glove award in 2023, and finished fourth among second basemen in both Defensive Runs Saved (eight) and Outs Above Average (11). Their middle-of-the-field defense with him, Dansby Swanson, and Pete Crow-Armstrong may be the best in all of baseball. The second reason is that Matt Shaw may not be ready for the Major Leagues. Yes, all the talks from front offices and scouts and experts say that Shaw is more than ready to play at the big-league level, but wasn't the same said about Matt Mervis? The first baseman was supposed to be a "high floor" slugger with a refined plate approach, and now he is no longer with the organization after being traded to the Marlins earlier in the offseason. Shaw is a higher quality prospect now than Mervis ever was, but the point remains: trusting Shaw to immediately replace an established veteran like Hoerner could be a fool's errand. If Shaw comes up and doesn't produce and needs to be sent down, then who do you insert into the lineup in his spot? Vidal Brujan? Jon Berti? Gage Workman? None of those options are remotely close to the best one, which would be keeping Hoerner and letting Shaw be a utility man, rather than coming up to the big leagues and starting every single day right away. It gives him an opportunity to get his feet wet and if he begins to outproduce Hoerner, then you make a move. Finally, the last reason to keep Hoerner is that it just makes sense logically. If your goal as a team is to win as many baseball games as you possibly can, then it makes sense to keep as many good players on your team as you can. You don't have to sign a really good player in Bregman and then give away a good player in Hoerner, even if the Cubs want you to think they're working with limited money. It's pretty sensible to argue that signing Bregman and trading Hoerner is much worse of an option than keeping both of them. Shaw's bat may have more potential than Hoerner's down the road, but the latter is a sterling defender and baserunner on top of his offensive utility. Nothing is finalized yet and it appears that the Bregman situation is dragging out longer than expected, but if the Cubs are able to sign him, they'd be foolish to trade Hoerner in response. View full article

In an offseason in which the Cubs have prioritized rotation and bullpen depth, they continued that trend Tuesday night with yet another addition to their relief corps. That will mean someone is either being shipped out in a trade, starting in the minor leagues or being released. Let's try and piece together what the Cubs bullpen will look like. Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Ryan Brasier brings the Cubs bullpen pleasingly close to full. They can only carry 13 pitchers at a time during the season, so depending on whether they use five or six starters in the rotation, they could have seven or eight relievers on the roster on any given day. For now, let's assume they stick with five regular starters, in Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea. Given those assumptions, who would fill in the remainder of the pitching staff? We know that the 8th and 9th innings will be patrolled by Porter Hodge and the recently acquired Ryan Pressly, respectively. There might be days when Pressly gets more than three outs or when Hodge slides back and takes the save, based on usage and matchups, but however you rank them, those two are the team's relief aces. Brasier, Tyson Miller and Caleb Thielbar are just as locked into their jobs as Pressly, and arguably even more so than Hodge. The Cubs have spent money on each of the aged veterans this winter, and neither can be optioned to the minors; neither can Miller. That means five spots in the pen can be written in with ink. The team also proactively chose to keep Julian Merryweather, another out-of-options relief arm, so we can call it six. That leaves just two slots for: Long reliever: Javier Assad Long reliever: Ben Brown Long reliever: Cody Poteet Long reliever: Jordan Wicks Long reliever: Caleb Kilian Long reliever: Nate Pearson Middle reliever: Eli Morgan Middle reliever: Luke Little Middle reliever: Jack Neely Middle reliever: Daniel Palencia Middle reliever: Ethan Roberts Middle reliever: Gavin Hollowell Middle reliever: Keegan Thompson That's 12 names for two jobs, and it only includes pitchers already on the 40-man roster, which means it leaves out top prospects Cade Horton and Brandon Birdsell, plus minor-league signees Brad Keller, Ben Heller, Trevor Richards, Phil Bickford, Brooks Kriske, and Brandon Hughes. Those guys coming to camp on minor-league deals pitched a combined 144 2/3 innings in the majors last year—not over their careers, just in 2024. Right now, you could say that none of them are in the top 10 for any spot on the roster. That's how much depth the Cubs have amassed. Of the gaudy list above, the only pitcher out of options is the bottom one, Thompson. Thus, if the Cubs don't make a trade that consolidates their pitching this month or next, they could start their season with Triple-A Iowa's pitching staff stuffed to the gills with MLB-quality arms—even accounting for an injury or two. We should assume they will, but for now, let's pick out the two arms who seem most likely to make it. Clearly, those are Morgan and Pearson, two guys the team has acquired in the last seven months and who spent virtually all of 2024 in the big leagues. That leaves us with a projected group of: Closer: Pressly Setup: Hodge Setup: Brasier Setup: Miller Setup: Thielbar Middle relief: Merryweather Middle relief: Morgan Long relief: Pearson Injuries are sure to shake up the Etch-a-Sketch, but barring them, it's hard to envision a roster without any of these names on it unless one of them has an awful spring. This would give the I-Cubs a rotation of Horton, Birdsell, Brown, Assad, Wicks and Poteet to begin the season, with Little, Neely, Palencia, Roberts and Hollowell headlining the bullpen. In this scenario, it's hard to imagine that Keller and one or two of the minor-league reliever signees wouldn't opt out of their deals and go looking for better opportunities, but if it comes to that, the Cubs will gladly take it. It's much more likely that they make a couple of trades in the next month, for any of several possible reasons. It's also possible that Merryweather either gets hurt again or pitches so poorly in spring training that they elect to cut bait with him. For now, however, pitching depth has emerged as an extraordinary strength for this team, and the Cubs could be set up better to weather the long season than they have been in any season in recent memory. View full article