Chicago Cubs Upgrades Put Them Among Early Winners of MLB Offseason

The Chicago Cubs have made some strong moves during the MLB offseason, making them early winners.

Nov 8, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs 2024 season could be summed up in one simple word; disappointing.

Despite bringing in Craig Counsell to be their manager, the team recorded as many wins in 2024 (83) as they did in 2023 under David Ross.

There were a few issues the team was unable to overcome, as they couldn't to get everything to click at the same time

Early in the year, it was the bullpen that was unable to perform at a high level, and then at points, their offense was unable to produce runs consistently.

Looking to ensure that doesn’t happen again, the Cubs made a huge splash on the trade market, acquiring star right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros.

With a logjam in their outfield, the team made another, sending Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees in what was a money-saving move.

All but $5 million of his remaining contract will be covered by the Yankees, which is a huge deal for Chicago as they should do everything in their power to retain Tucker long-term.

Those two moves, when combined, is a major reason that Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has named the Cubs as one of the biggest winners in the early going of the MLB offseason.

“Sending Hayden Wesneski to the Astros and getting Cody Poteet from the Yankees was more or less a wash. Both right-handed pitchers are in their final year of pre-arbitration, each likely headed for an $800k salary. [Cody] Poteet should be able to fill that sixth starter / long reliever role in which Wesneski served over the past few years. Beyond that, they saved around $20M by giving up Bellinger ($27.5M) and Isaac Paredes (estimated $6.3M) and bringing in Tucker (estimated $16.7M), and arguably upgraded their offense in the process.”

Not only did Chicago save money, something that is important to an ownership group who didn’t want to add much payroll this winter, their lineup is improved.

Tucker is an upgrade over what the team received from Bellinger in 2024.

Also, an everyday unit of Ian Happ in left field, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, and Tucker in right is arguably the best defensive trio in baseball.

By moving Paredes as part of the Tucker blockbuster, a spot in the lineup has been opened up for star prospect Matt Shaw in the infield. 

The only way this doesn’t work out for the Cubs is if Tucker departs after one season and Cam Smith, the star prospect they shipped to Houston, outperforms Shaw down the road.

In addition to the trade, Chicago addressed depth issues at other spots on the roster that had to be filled.

Matthew Boyd was signed to round out their starting rotation, and Carson Kelly gives the team a nice complement to Miguel Amaya behind the plate.

With the other members of the NL Central taking steps back or not being active this offseason, the Cubs are putting themselves in a position to become the top dog.