It’s not typically that the highest free agent doesn’t get a lot consideration from the crew they’re departing however that may find yourself being the case this winter. Even amid an up-and-down season the place he was dogged by accidents, Kyle Tucker was a key piece of the crew that acquired the Cubs again into the NLDS for the primary time since 2017. Whereas Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer praised Tucker and steered he’d keep up a correspondence with the outfielder’s camp this winter, just about all reporting on the topic suggests the Cubs aren’t going to pursue a reunion in a critical method.
The crew’s focus seems to be on pitching, no less than in the intervening time. They’ve already signed right-hander Phil Maton to assist bolster their bullpen. After bringing southpaw Shota Imanaga again on a qualifying supply, they nonetheless determine to discover the marketplace for top-of-the-rotation pitching choices. A deal for somebody like Michael King, Ranger Suarez, or Tatsuya Imai will surely make sense for a crew that ran out of pitching in October resulting from accidents to Cade Horton and Justin Steele. A commerce can also’t be dominated out, with gamers like Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and MacKenzie Gore all anticipated to be no less than considerably accessible this winter.
At the same time as the main focus seems to be on the highest of the rotation, nevertheless, the void Tucker figures to go away within the lineup is simple. The celebrity delivered his fifth consecutive season price no less than 4.0 fWAR in 2025 as he slashed .266/.377/.464 with a 136 wRC+ in 136 video games. That kind of manufacturing could be very tough to interchange internally, even with gifted children like Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara knocking on the door of the majors. Ballesteros seemed one of the best of the bunch in his cup of espresso with the massive league membership final yr, hitting a formidable .298/.394/.474 throughout 66 journeys to the plate in 20 video games. Robust as that manufacturing was, nevertheless, it will be unreasonable to anticipate a 22-year-old rookie to copy that over a full season.
Maybe it will be comprehensible to roll the cube on these inside choices if the Cubs had extra certainty round the remainder of the diamond, however the query marks are simple. Carson Kelly appears unlikely to recreate his profession yr on the plate (115 wRC+) from 2025 headed into his age-31 marketing campaign. Matt Shaw started to indicate indicators of life within the second half however his 93 wRC+ on the season was subpar. Dansby Swanson (99 wRC+) delivered his second consecutive below-average offensive season final yr.
One large x-factor is Pete Crow-Armstrong. The budding celebrity delivered a 30-30 season in 2025 and completed ninth in NL MVP voting off the again of an excellent marketing campaign, however his OPS dropped greater than 200 factors between the primary half and the second half. Relying on the 23-year-old to steer the Cubs’ offense instead of Tucker subsequent yr could be a dangerous gamble. Additionally, Hoerner, Happ and Seiya Suzuki are slated without spending a dime company subsequent winter. Including a dependable bat to the lineup may go an extended option to stopping a step again headed into the 2027 season whereas additionally offering reinforcements for a 2026 crew that can face plenty of questions with out Tucker within the fold.
The query, in fact, turns into the crew’s finances. The Cubs have been very hesitant to spend past the aggressive stability tax for the previous a number of years, treating it as a mushy cap on spending. RosterResource tasks them for a $197MM CBT determine in 2026 as issues stand. The bottom threshold of the tax shall be $244MM subsequent yr, giving them a bit greater than $45MM of wiggle room.
With wants within the bullpen and the rotation, that would dry up in a rush. Signing somebody like Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, or Kyle Schwarber wouldn’t depart a ton of room for pitching additions. Even a inexpensive addition like Kazuma Okamoto or Eugenio Suarez could be problem to make work if the crew is unwilling to spend past the primary threshold of the posh tax.
How do MLBTR readers assume the Cubs will proceed with their offense headed into 2026? Will they hope an offensive nucleus of Crow-Armstrong, Suzuki, and Michael Busch shall be sufficient to climate the lack of Tucker? Or will they create in an affect hitter to enhance the lineup? Have your say within the ballot beneath:
