The Chicago Cubs are going to make a lot of moves this offseason. Some bigger. Many smaller. And they’ll come on all sides of the ball, from the positional group to the bench to the bullpen to the rotation. None of this is news.
But Cubs President Jed Hoyer was pretty candid about where he thinks the majority of the offseason work will come, and that’s on the pitching side. From his perspective, it’s not too difficult to look at the depth chart and see where most of the needs lie.
Cubs General Manager Carter Hawkins made the same point this week at the GM Meetings, but described it a little differently (via The Athletic):
“One of my favorite things to talk about in the office with the guys is: ‘A win is a win is a win,’” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said. “An offensive win is the same as a defensive win is the same as a pitching win. But if you look at our current lineup, our current depth chart, where are we most likely to be able to improve?
“It’s going to be on the pitching side. That’s where the most opportunity is. It’s not that we wouldn’t acquire an awesome position player or be active on the position-player market in different ways. But it’s just most likely that it’s going to be in the pitching space where we find things that make us better for the cost that we’re looking to be paying at that time.
“That’s a long way of saying: ‘Yeah, our focus will be everywhere,’ but I would imagine that most of the action would be involved in the pitching market.”
If you have a budget – and most teams do – then you have to be thoughtful about how you deploy your offseason dollars. That same $10 million could be used to boost your projected win total a game or two on the positional side, or a game or three on the pitching side. That depends not only on whom you target, but also on whose at bats or innings the new guy is replacing.
For these Cubs, upgrading meaningfully on the positional side is doable, but there are limited opportunities. I think the Cubs could boost second base AND the bench with the right move, but that might be about the only area where they could really make a significant addition without a series of broader moves that really turn over the roster.
On the pitching side, though, it’s not complicated. An impact starting pitcher? Yeah, that’s gonna be a huge upgrade. An late-inning bullpen arm? Yup, Cubs could absolutely use that. An additional depth/upside starter? Yes, please. Lots of shots in the bullpen to try once again to recreate the reclamation magic? Have to.
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