It’s widespread for baseball groups to spend the winter specializing in new acquisitions after which pivot to extensions throughout spring coaching. Nothing appears pressing with a few Cubs, as outfielders Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki each inform Maddie Lee of the Chicago Solar-Instances that they haven’t but heard from the membership on the extension entrance.
It’s doable {that a} large pivot is arising within the membership’s place participant combine. Kyle Tucker simply departed by way of free company. After the 2026 season, the Cubs are slated to see Happ, Suzuki and second baseman Nico Hoerner hit the open market. Carson Kelly’s deal has a 2027 mutual choice however these provisions are nearly by no means picked up by either side, so he must be thought-about an impending free agent as effectively.
That offers the Cubs a very good quantity of future spending capability. Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman are the one gamers assured greater than $6MM subsequent yr. RosterResource initiatives them for simply $76.25MM in spending subsequent yr. That quantity will give you arbitration-eligible and pre-arb gamers however there’s an enormous hole between that determine and the $231MM they’re spending on the 2026 squad.
The flipside is that there are holes. The outfield has lots of long-term uncertainty with Happ and Suzuki slated to depart. Pete Crow-Armstrong must be a fixture in heart discipline since he stays beneath membership management by means of 2030 however the corners would must be addressed.
That might occur internally, in concept. Matt Shaw might get some outfield work this yr and could possibly be a possible issue. His most reasonable long-term match can be second base, with Hoerner’s potential departure, although a Hoerner extension is one other factor the Cubs might think about. Owen Caissie as soon as seemed like a long-term outfield resolution however he was dealt to the Marlins within the Edward Cabrera commerce. Kevin Alcántara remains to be within the combine however has struck out in nearly 30% of his Triple-A plate appearances so far, decreasing his inventory a bit. Justin Dean is on the roster however profiles extra as a speed-and-defense depth outfielder. James Triantos and Pedro Ramírez are on the 40-man and have some minor league outfield expertise however have principally performed the infield and neither has cracked the majors but.
If the Cubs don’t imagine in that inside group, there can be sense in pursuing extension talks with Happ or Suzuki. They already received one extension carried out with Happ. Again in 2023, Happ and the Cubs agreed to a three-year deal value $61MM. That was a little bit of a shocking deal on the time, with Happ just some months from hitting free company as a 29-year-old. As a substitute, he locked in some assured cash and is now slated to hit the open market shortly after his thirty second birthday in August.
The switch-hitter has been remarkably constant on the plate. He has appeared in 9 large league seasons now. Within the seven campaigns the place he performed a minimum of 60 video games, his wRC+ completed between 105 and 122. He’s usually good for 15 to 25 residence runs with strong on-base marks due to sturdy stroll charges. The defensive grades have been blended however he can steal a number of baggage and FanGraphs has thought-about him to mainly be value three-to-four wins above substitute lately.
Suzuki has been extra of a bat-first participant. He has a .269/.346/.472 line and 127 wRC+ over his 4 seasons with the Cubs. Defensive metrics have thought-about him to be subpar within the discipline and he noticed lots of time because the designated hitter final yr. Tucker’s departure seemingly opens the door for him to be a extra common outfielder, with Moisés Ballesteros maybe taking on an honest chunk of the DH at-bats.
Exterior options may be thought-about, as at all times. Subsequent yr’s free agent class doesn’t have a famous person outfielder. Happ and Suzuki must be two of the highest choices, alongside guys like Randy Arozarena, Daulton Varsho, Trent Grisham and others. The Cubs might maybe wait and difficulty qualifying presents to Happ and/or Suzuki and attempt to lure them again that manner, a state of affairs which lately performed out with left-hander Shota Imanaga. There may be commerce alternatives that develop within the subsequent yr or so.
The truth that no talks have taken place doesn’t imply they received’t sooner or later, so it will likely be attention-grabbing to see if the Cubs choose up the telephone within the coming weeks or in the event that they’d want to play the ready recreation. As talked about, the membership has long-term spending capability, which means they may get one thing carried out now in the event that they wished to. The 2 gamers are in the identical boat age-wise, as they had been born inside every week of one another in 1994, Happ on August twelfth and Suzuki on August 18th.
Photograph courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Photos
