Chicago Cubs Must Continue to Add Arms For Bullpen During Winter Meetings

The Chicago Cubs must continue to try and improve their bullpen during Winter Meetings

Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Eli Morgan (49) pitches against the New York Yankees in the fifth inning during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are getting prepared for the Winter Meetings next week with an eye on improving a team that has a lot of potential for next season. 

It was a solid campaign in 2024 for the Cubs. They finished over the .500 mark once again, but unfortunately came up short of making the postseason. 

So far this offseason, Chicago has already been active with a few moves to help improve the team. They have signed left-hander Matthew Boyd, while also adding relief pitcher Eli Morgan and catcher Matt Thaiss. 

It has been a solid start to the offseason for the Cubs, but there is still a lot of work to do. Chicago has high aspirations for next season, and they will need to continue to work both free agency and the trade market. 

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com recently spoke about what the Cubs need to do during the Winter Meetings. He highlighted the need for them to continue to bolster a bullpen that wasn’t very good last season. 

“After running in place for two seasons, just outside of the playoff bracket, the Cubs are getting younger. And not in a reset-the-roster way but more in a we've-been-waiting-on-these-guys way. In this version of going young, a midlevel team lets walk-year veterans go and has prospects ready to replace them. Chicago needs to make sure there is plenty of runway for young players such as Matt Shaw, Owen Cassie, Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcantara. Trading Cody Bellinger for pitching is an option, but only if the return moves the short-term needle. Either way, Chicago needs to amp up its options in the back end of the bullpen.”

While it has been a nice start to the offseason, there are still a lot of potential moves coming for Chicago. Continuing to improve a bullpen that really struggled to hold leads will be important. Adding Morgan is a good start, but the Cubs could really use a star closer to help anchor the unit. 

In addition to adding to the bullpen, there is a lot of speculation about what might happen to Cody Bellinger this offseason. The talented slugger somewhat unexpectedly opted into his contract for 2025, keeping him in Chicago. 

The Cubs were likely hoping that Bellinger would test free agency this offseason, as it would have allowed them to use that money elsewhere while freeing up some playing time for the plethora of young talent that they have. 

Even though it might not be a major addition in free agency to make a splash, solid moves to improve areas of need will go a long way for Chicago during the Winter Meetings.