Andrew Wright

The focus for the remainder of the offseason is on bullpen and bench pieces, so it seems that the Cubs' rotation is set. Given the surplus of starting pitching arms, Chicago would benefit from starting the season with a six-man rotation. Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images There are several reasons why a six-man rotation would benefit Chicago, with the main one being that it will be extremely important to keep arms fresh for the back half of the season. Here is what a six-man rotation could look like for the Cubs. 1. Justin Steele 2. Shota Imanaga 3. Jameson Taillon 4. Javier Assad 5. Matthew Boyd 6. Colin Rea After the top two of Steele and Imanaga, you could arrange the rest of the names in whatever order you want, but those are the six arms that should be considered for starting games in the first one to two months of the season. The six names here would leave Jordan Wicks as the swingman/long reliever in the Chicago bullpen, a role that seems to work well for his pitching style. He could come out of the bullpen and give Chicago length on days when they need it, or he could be inserted right into the rotation in case of an injury. With the excess pitching and the ability to roll out this rotation, the Cubs can significantly reduce Steele, Imanaga, and Taillon's early-season workloads. Having those three arms ready to make a run down the stretch will be crucial for the team's success in 2025. Focusing on Imanaga specifically, the worst two months of his outstanding 2024 season were June (5.67 ERA) and August (3.68 ERA). It is well documented that the standard pitching rotation overseas, and in Japan specifically, is pitchers making a start every six days. Imanaga was able to adapt to every fifth day in the States, but Chicago did find ways to work around that and allowed him to pitch every sixth day when they could. Now, with the signings of Rea and Boyd, the Cubs have the flexibility not to alter a rotation for a series to allow an extra day of rest for anyone. This strategy may and may not work, but it would not be a bad idea for Chicago to use it to begin the season and save arms and innings for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run in 2025. View full article

You could look all over the Chicago Cubs roster and pinpoint certain players who need to step up and lead the charge in 2025. Ultimately, though, the health and production of star shortstop Dansby Swanson will carry this team as far as it goes. Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images After signing with Chicago prior to the 2023 season, Dansby Swanson hasn't quite lived up to the $177-million contract he was given. He posted batting averages of .244 in 2023 and .242 in 2024. Swanson has also started to miss time, something he hadn't done since very early in his career. The dip in batting average isn't nearly as concerning as the missed games are. Swanson is just a career .252 hitter. His best season in the average department (and really overall) was 2022, his last season in Atlanta. Swanson hit .277 with 25 homers that season, prompting Chicago to pay him the big bucks over seven seasons. The 28 missed games over the last two seasons are part of a growing concern. Swanson played 147 games in 2023 and 149 in 2024. Those were his lowest totals in a season since he played just 127 games for the Braves in 2019. Manager Craig Counsell acknowledged that Swanson has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons but expects him to be as healthy as ever headed into the 2025 season. Another low number for Swanson in 2024 was his home run total. Once again, the lack of pop could be influenced by the nagging injury, but 16 homers were his fewest in a non-shortened season since 2018, when he hit 14 in his first full campaign for Atlanta. Swanson's .390 slugging percentage was the second-lowest of his career, with the lowest coming in 2017, his second year in MLB and a much smaller sample. The previous two seasons for Swanson resulted in an All-Star Game appearance, Gold Glove awards, and even a few MVP votes. The 2024 season contained none of that. So, what exactly must he do differently in 2025? Staying healthy is the first step, Swanson being available for the 154-162 games that were his former custom will be huge for Chicago. That will provide not only stability on defense, but a chance for Swanson to stay in a rhythm and routine at the plate. In the 28 games missed over the last two seasons from Swanson, the Cubs have a record of 11-17. For a team that has struggled to get above 85 wins in the last few seasons, having Swanson on the field every day will be a necessity. If he is able to stay healthy and be available every day over the course of 162 games, Swanson's leadership and skill set will be crucial for the Cubs, who are looking to capture their first real division title since 2017. View full article

With less than three months until Opening Day 2025, it's a good time to start thinking about what Opening Day rosters could look like for each team—and for the Cubs, in particular. Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images With big-name free agents like Tanner Scott, Justin Verlander, Jurickson Profar and more still out there, it's a bit difficult to determine who will be on which rosters come Opening Day. We're going to try our best to predict the Chicago Cubs' 26-man Opening Day roster, though. Here's what it could look like. Pitchers (13) SP: Justin Steele SP: Shota Imanaga SP: Jameson Taillon SP: Matthew Boyd SP: Ben Brown SP: Javier Assad SP: Jordan Wicks RP: Porter Hodge RP: Julian Merryweather RP: Caleb Thielbar RP: Tyson Miller RP: Nate Pearson RP: Luke Little It's hard to imagine the Cubs won't make a trade that involves Assad or Wicks, but as of today, they have not yet done that, so they are both on the projected roster. Choosing Little for the final pitcher spot over someone like Jack Neely or Cody Poteet is solely because of the Cubs' need for more than one left-handed reliever. In 37 career appearances, he has a 2.76 ERA, and if he is able to cut down the walk rate, he will be a valuable weapon out of the Chicago bullpen. If this fairly wild configuration actually plays out, we'd probably see Wicks shuttled to relief, so maybe Little isn't essential, but he's one intriguing option. Catchers (2) Miguel Amaya Carson Kelly It's easy to nearly forget about Kelly, who was a relatively small signing earlier this winter. He's an important cog in the machine, though; he figures to provide insurance against a failure to further develop on the part of Amaya. Infielders (6) 1B: Michael Busch 2B: Nico Hoerner SS: Dansby Swanson 3B: Matt Shaw UTIL: Vidal Bruján UTIL: Gage Workman The recently acquired Bruján is one of several players who will vie to slot in as the fifth infielder and utility man for Chicago. Top prospect Matt Shaw looks to be in line to make his first Opening Day roster. Outfielders (5) LF: Ian Happ CF: Pete Crow-Armstrong RF: Kyle Tucker OF/DH: Seiya Suzuki OF: Alexander Canario More often than not, Tucker will play right field, and Suzuki will serve as the DH. It's likely that Happ and Crow-Armstrong will each play 150+ games, unless they miss time due to an injury. Canario is out of options, so he has to make the roster in order to stay in the organization. He's one fallback in case of an injury; others will include Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara. The latter two project to begin the season at Triple-A Iowa, though. Chicago could go with 12 pitchers instead of 13 and give themselves the flexibility to keep Miles Mastrobuoni, who is familiar with the organization and the way manager Craig Counsell wants things done, on the roster. It seems safe to guess that they'll stick with the customary roster construction, though. Under modern rules, an even split is the norm. There could be several more moves coming, leading up to Opening Day. As of right now, however, this is what the roster may look like. View full article

Early in the 2023 season, the Cubs were trying to figure out life with the new additions of Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer. The two were both in the starting lineup Apr. 11, 2023, when Chicago took on the Seattle Mariners in the second of a three-game set. The game looked like one to turn off and forget after the second inning, but the boys in blue had fight in them and turned it into a memorable game for plenty of Cubs fans. Headed to the bottom of the third inning, the Cubs trailed 7-1 and it felt like it was going to be one of those turn it off and go to bed early type of nights for fans of the North Siders. Dansby Swanson started the bottom half of the third inning with a single. Ian Happ popped out and then Mancini launched his first home run as a Cub to cut the Mariners lead to 7-3 The next four Cubs would reach base, including an RBI single from Hosmer to make it a 7-4 game. That set the stage for Nelson Velazquez to step up to the plate with the bases loaded and what happened next will be etched into the minds of Cubs fans for years to come. Velazquez launched a 396-foot grand slam to left center to give the Cubs an 8-7 lead and send Wrigley Field into an absolute frenzy. The homer for Velazquez was his first of the season and it helped bring Chicago out of an early 7-0 hole. The grand slam was part of a three-hit and four RBI night for Velazquez. It was undoubtedly his best game as a Cub, and he was later traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed reliever Jose Cuas. Chicago would push across six more runs throughout the remainder of the game and win by a final score of 14-8. It was a fun early season moment for the Cubs in 2023 and a moment that fans will certainly remember for the foreseeable future. View full article

When the Cubs signed Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal in July 2024, they couldn't have guessed the amount of production he'd provide. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images One August day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bethancourt got his occasional start behind the plate, but things went awry. Kyle Hendricks got the start and had one of the ugly, unfortunate showings that defined his final season with the team. After six innings, Chicago was in a 10-3 hole, and it looked like all hope was lost for the series finale. Bethancourt's final three at-bats played an instrumental part in Chicago's comeback win. Christian Bethancourt stepped up to the plate in the top of the seventh with a man on first and no one out. He launched a 431-foot home run to center field, to cut the Pittsburgh lead down to 10-5. The Cubs were unable to score anymore that inning, though, despite getting a man in scoring position with less than two outs. Bethancourt came up again in the top of the eighth inning with two men on and one out. He smoked a double down the left-field line, and both runners came home. Bethancourt's second extra-base hit in two innings trimmed Pittsburgh's lead to 10-7. Bethancourt would come around to score on Ian Happ's RBI single, and the Cubs would make it 10-8 headed to the ninth inning. In the top of the ninth, the Cubs scratched across a run between two fielders' choices and some frantic at-bats. With two outs and the bases loaded, that set the stage for Bethancourt to come to the plate. The veteran catcher delivered once again, with a single through the left side to bring home two runs and give the Cubs an 11-10 lead. That gave Bethancourt his sixth and seventh RBIs of the day; Chicago went on to win 14-10. The seven RBIs for Bethancourt made him the sixth Chicago Cubs catcher to have at least that many in a single game. While it would've been a great opening to a Cubs 2024 World Series video, Bethancourt's historic game was all for naught, as it did not fuel a sufficiently serious late-season run to propel Chicago into the postseason. Bethancourt has since become a free agent, but we will always have the memory of that fun Wednesday game in Pittsburgh. View full article

Welcome to Chicago, Kyle Tucker! The Cubs got their guy, and now it is time to look ahead at how Craig Counsell will craft the lineup come Opening Day 2025. Image courtesy of © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images We know that Cody Bellinger is (more than likely) a goner. With that knowledge (but otherwise assuming no lineup-altering moves between now and mid-March), here's a look ahead at the Cubs' potential 2025 lineup. Nico Hoerner (2B) Ian Happ (LF) Seiya Suzuki (DH) Kyle Tucker (RF) Dansby Swanson (SS) Michael Busch (1B) Matt Shaw (3B) Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF) Miguel Amaya/Carson Kelly (C) There's an argument made for Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner to trade spots in the lineup, if you buy very heavily into the surge Crow-Armstrong enjoyed late in the 2024 campaign. It ultimately comes down to this lineup not getting too right-handed heavy toward the bottom. Having Swanson-Hoerner-Shaw in sequence could get worrisome when facing high-leverage righties in late-game situations. Hoerner has proven that he can be a successful leadoff hitter and sliding him back into that role would help break up the cluster of righties at the bottom of the order. The Cubs will only do so, though, if they're satisfied that the second baseman is fully recovered from his forearm injury and will be something akin to his second-half self from each of the last two years (2023: .768 OPS; 2024: .741) for the whole season in 2025. The 8-9 duo of Crow-Armstrong and Amaya was probably the best in baseball over the final two months of this season, so there is no reason to break that up. Having Carson Kelly, a known lefty killer will also be huge to platoon with Amaya, who has reverse splits. This lineup won't be confused for that of the Dodgers, but it's an increasingly threatening group. Depending on how healthy and productive Hoerner, Crow-Armstrong, and even Shaw appear to be in spring training and the early stages of the season, it could take a lot of variant shapes, but they all figure to score more runs than last year's team did. View full article

Amid all the Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and Nico Hoerner trade rumors, the Cubs could still greatly benefit from adding at least one, if not two, relief pitchers. With plenty of options still out on the open market, here are three that the Cubs should go after to help bolster the bullpen. Image courtesy of © Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Tanner Scott Coming off of a career year in 2024, Scott would be a welcome addition to a Cubs bullpen that has felt like it needed a left-handed flamethrower for years. Scott uses just two pitches 99.9% of the time, with those pitches being a fastball and a slider. He throws the fastball 59.2% of the time and uses the slider 40.7% of the time. The occasional changeup from Scott makes up for the other 0.1%. Righties hit just .155 against Scott's fastball in 2024 and had just two extra base-hits in 103 at-bats. The slider was not as effective, as opponent hit .250 with two homers against it. Scott finished 2024 with a 1.95 ERA and 22 saves and would likely slide straight into the closer role for Chicago. Scott would be a great addition to the back end of the bullpen, featuring Julian Merryweather and Porter Hodge. Scott possesses a career K/9 rate of 11.9. Cub fans have wanted a hard-throwing lefty who gets strikeouts since the departure of Aroldis Chapman in 2016. AJ Minter Minter appeared in just 39 games for the Braves last season but was efficient when he was available to come out of the Atlanta bullpen. Minter has a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball, cutter and changeup. He throws the fastball the most at 47.7% of the time. The cutter is his second most frequented pitch at 34.5% and the changeup is thrown 17.8%. The changeup is Minter's best pitch to get a strikeout, as the pitch has a whiff rate of over 40%. Opponents were just 3-for-89 on the pitch with no extra base hits and 10 strikeouts. He finished the season with a record of 5-4 and a 2.62 ERA, the third-lowest ERA in his eight-year career. Much like Scott, Minter would be a great left-handed addition to the bullpen, as he brings a K/9 rate of 10.9 for his career. Andrew Chafin Cub fans would love a reunion with "The Sheriff," as he's called by most around the MLB. Chafin spent parts of Chicago's 2020 and 2021 seasons and was quite good. Chafin finished his 2020 stint with an ERA of 3.00 and topped that with a 2.06 ERA in 43 games in 2021. Besides being a fan favorite, Chafin is a solid pitcher, as the statistics show. His last two seasons have not been what he hoped for, so maybe a return to Chicago could be exactly what Chafin needs to return to form. Chafin is an outlier from the other two, as he throws a slider the most at 45.7% of the time. He mixes in a sinker and a fastball also. Chafin has an impressive 56.8% whiff rate on his slider and opponents hit just .141 against the pitch. A combo of the fastball heavy Scott and slider heavy Chafin would be a great left-handed combo out of the Cubs bullpen. As has been the theme with these three relievers, the Cubs need a solid left-handed option out of the bullpen for 2025 and beyond. Any one of these three names would be an excellent signing for the Cubs. Pair a Tanner Scott signing with a trade for Kyle Tucker, and the Cubs will have had a successful offseason and set themselves up nicely for the 2025 season. View full article