The Cubs plan so as to add a longtime beginning pitcher to their rotation this winter, says Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The membership has Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad in 4 spots. Per Mooney’s report, including yet one more identify to that blend would push guys like Ben Brown, Cade Horton, Jordan Wicks and Hayden Wesneski down the depth chart.
“In a single sense, you’re feeling such as you’re in a strong place as a result of now we have plenty of younger pitchers [who] have had success within the massive leagues,” supervisor Craig Counsell stated. “Now, with all of them, there’s been accidents. And it’s not an enormous pattern as of but. However that’s additionally form of the character of pitching. It’s the character of younger pitching. So we’re in a great spot when it comes to that space of depth. However as we noticed this yr, it disappeared shortly.”
The quartet of Imanaga, Steele, Taillon and Assad have been the membership’s finest starters this yr, each in high quality and amount. Every has an ERA of three.41 or decrease in the meanwhile, and all of them have tossed between 130 and 175 innings this season.
Nevertheless, as Counsell alluded to, there have been additionally some challenges. Steele made a number of journeys to the injured record, one for a left hamstring pressure and one other for left elbow tendinitis. The Cubs had picked up a $16.5M membership choice to convey again Kyle Hendricks, however that in the end proved to be a misstep. Hendricks struggled severely sufficient to get moved to the bullpen. He finally retook a rotation spot however had a 6.28 ERA for the yr general. Wicks is at present on the IL for the third time this yr, having gone on the shelf for a left forearm pressure and two separate stints for proper indirect strains. Brown hasn’t pitched since June as a consequence of a stress response in his neck. Horton final pitched in Could, getting shut down with a subscapularis pressure and struggling a setback whereas attempting to return to the mound.
An argument could possibly be made for rolling into 2025 with the identical entrance 4, letting the group of Wicks, Brown, Horton and Wesneski combat for the fifth spot. However with so many points in 2024, including extra safety makes loads of sense. None of these 4 are totally established. Wesneski is the one one with greater than 81 big-league innings pitched, and his 186 frames have been break up between the bullpen and rotation. Wicks, Brown and Wesneski nonetheless have choices, which means they could possibly be stretched out in Triple-A if not wanted on the large league employees. Horton isn’t but on the 40-man and doesn’t must be shielded from the Rule 5 draft till December 2025.
The Cubs additionally won’t have a lot else on their winter to-do record. Even when Cody Bellinger finally opts out, the outfield will nonetheless have Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Mike Tauchman, with Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcántara and Brennen Davis at Triple-A. The infield has Isaac Paredes, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch, with Matt Shaw knocking on the door. Miguel Amaya has proven some progress on the plate and Christian Bethancourt might be retained for subsequent yr if the Cubs imagine in his latest efficiency. Moises Ballesteros may even be pushing for a job quickly.
The bullpen arguably needs to be a spotlight however president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had made it clear he would favor to not make free agent splashes there. As proven on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, since Hoyer was employed in November 2020, the membership hasn’t given a multi-year deal to any reliever. And of the one-year offers they’ve given out, the one man to get greater than $5M was Héctor Neris, who acquired $9M.
Until a change is coming within the strategy to bullpen building, beginning pitching is a logical goal with the place participant group in strong form. And there needs to be some powder dry for reinforcements. The membership went narrowly over the $237M aggressive stability tax this yr, with RosterResource at present pegging their quantity a bit over $238M. Subsequent yr’s tally is simply at $126M proper now. Arbitration raises for guys like Paredes and Steele will undoubtedly add to that quantity, and it’ll develop considerably if Bellinger decides to remain. Nevertheless, there’ll nonetheless be room for a notable contract.
Hoyer hasn’t performed on the high of the market when it comes to beginning pitching however has given out some mid-market offers. As proven within the MLBTR Contract Tracker once more, Imanaga, Taillon and Marcus Stroman have every acquired ensures between $53M and $71M, the biggest ensures the Cubs have given to beginning pitchers within the Hoyer period.
This winter’s beginning pitching class will probably be topped by guys like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Blake Snell, assuming Snell stays wholesome and opts out of his deal. Signing any of these guys would probably require the Cubs to go to a brand new stage of spending, stepping into nine-figure territory. In the event that they need to keep in that Stroman/Taillon/Imanaga tier, they’d most likely be debating names like Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Nick Pivetta. Corridor-of-Fame-bound veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander will probably be restricted to short-term offers since they’re each of their 40s and coming off injury-plagued years in 2024.
The commerce market will probably be an alternative choice for the Cubs. The White Sox didn’t find yourself flipping Garrett Crochet on the deadline however may maybe make him obtainable once more within the winter. The Marlins misplaced virtually all their rotation choices to harm this yr, but it surely’s attainable to see them contemplating offers because the group will get more healthy for 2025. Equally, the Rays appear to have many rotation choices, with Jeffrey Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen getting back from lengthy absences, with Shane McClanahan to affix them subsequent yr. Different prospects will certainly emerge because the winter goes on.
It will likely be an fascinating offseason for the Cubs. Their signing of Swanson heading into 2023 appeared to sign a want to return to competition after a few rebuilding years. They’d a strong however unspectacular yr in 2023, profitable 83 video games. They could high that right here in 2024, at present at 80-76, however will miss the postseason once more. Strain figures to be excessive for a membership that hasn’t made the postseason in a 162-game slate since 2018, however a number of good components are in place, and some ending touches may maybe get them over the hump in 2025.
