Upgrading This Position Remains 'Priority' of Chicago Cubs This Offseason

The Chicago Cubs are clearly looking to make upgrades this offseason, and they are targeting one key area as of right now.

Sep 22, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya (9) is greeted by manager Craig Counsell (30) after hitting a two-run home run against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field / David Banks-Imagn Images

There are a lot of things the front office needs to do this offseason to put a roster onto the field that will ensure the Chicago Cubs will be in contention to make the playoffs next year.

Jed Hoyer & Co. felt like they had done enough last winter despite outside criticism saying they didn't do enough to address their weaknesses.

When the regular season finished, it was clear the critics were right and the organization was wrong considering the Cubs are watching fall baseball instead of competing in it.

Will Hoyer and his front office now ramp up the aggression regarding trade and free agency pursuits?

According to multiple insiders at this point in time, it seems like that's the direction this franchise is going to take knowing they vastly underperformed compared to expectations following their hiring of Craig Counsell last winter.

When looking specifically at areas Chicago might look to upgrade, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports one position is definitely on their target list.

"Upgrading at catcher, sources said, remains a priority," he said.

That comes on the heels of him revealing the Cubs tried to trade for slugging catcher Logan O'Hoppe ahead of this past trade deadline, something that creates an interesting scenario about what the role Miguel Amaya might have with this franchise going forward.

Chicago had one of the least productive offensive outputs from that position this season, resulting in them cutting veteran Yan Gomes and bringing in the duo of Tomas Nido and Christian Bethancourt to hopefully provide a spark.

The front office clearly still feels like they need to add another player to the mix before 2025.

Who they might pursue becomes the next logical question with this free agency class not necessarily swimming in catchers who could come in and make an immediate impact.

Making a trade like they tried to pull off at the deadline seems like the only logical solution for truly upgrading the position, but that would require them to give up some of their star prospects they haven't been keen on dealing yet.

All of this points to Hoyer and the Cubs having a potentially busy offseason as they look to build a roster that truly is ready to get into the playoffs.