The Cubs are planning so as to add a longtime beginning pitcher to their rotation this winter, stories Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The membership has Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad in 4 spots. Per Mooney’s report, including yet another identify into that blend would push guys like Ben Brown, Cade Horton, Jordan Wicks and Hayden Wesneski down the depth chart.
“In a single sense, you’re feeling such as you’re in a strong place as a result of we’ve numerous younger pitchers (who) have had success within the massive leagues,” Supervisor Craig Counsell is quoted as saying within the piece. “Now with all of them, there’s been accidents. And it’s not a giant pattern as of but. However that’s additionally form of the character of pitching. It’s the character of younger pitching. So we’re in a great spot by way of that space of depth. However as we noticed this 12 months, it disappeared shortly.”
The quartet of Imanaga, Steele, Taillon and Assad have been the membership’s greatest starters this 12 months, each by way of high quality and amount. Every of that group has an ERA of three.41 or decrease in the intervening time and all of them have tossed between 130 and 175 innings on the season to this point.
However as Counsell alluded to, there have been additionally some challenges. Steele made a few journeys to the injured record, one for a left hamstring pressure and one other for left elbow tendinitis. The Cubs had picked up a $16.5MM membership choice to deliver again Kyle Hendricks however that finally proved to be a misstep. Hendricks struggled badly sufficient to get moved to the bullpen. He ultimately retook a rotation spot however has a 6.28 ERA for the 12 months total. Wicks is at present on the IL for the third time this 12 months, having gone on the shelf for a left forearm pressure after which two separate stints for proper indirect strains. Brown hasn’t pitched since June attributable to a stress response in his neck. Horton final pitched in Might, getting shut down with a subscapularis pressure and struggling a setback whereas attempting to return the mound.
An argument may very well be made for rolling into 2025 with the identical entrance 4, letting the group of Wicks, Brown, Horton and Wesneski combat for the fifth spot. However with so many points in 2024, including some extra safety makes loads of sense. None of these 4 are absolutely established. Wesneski is the one one with greater than 81 massive league innings pitched, and his 186 frames have been break up between the bullpen and rotation. Wicks, Brown and Wesneski all nonetheless have choices, which means they may very well be stretched out in Triple-A if not wanted on the massive league employees. Horton isn’t but on the 40-man and doesn’t must be protected against the Rule 5 draft till December of 2025.
The Cubs additionally won’t have a lot else on their winter to-do record. Even when Cody Bellinger ultimately opts out, the outfield will nonetheless have Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Mike Tauchman, with Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcántara and Brennen Davis at Triple-A. The infield has Isaac Paredes, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch, with Matt Shaw knocking on the door. Miguel Amaya has proven some progress on the plate and Christian Bethancourt might be retained for subsequent 12 months if the Cubs imagine in his latest efficiency. Moises Ballesteros will even be pushing for a job quickly.
The bullpen arguably needs to be a spotlight however president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had made it clear he would like to to not make free agent splashes there. As proven on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, since Hoyer was employed in November of 2020, the membership hasn’t given a multi-year deal to any reliever. And of the one-year offers they’ve given out, the one man to get greater than $5MM was Héctor Neris, who acquired $9MM.
Until a change is coming by way of the strategy to bullpen building, beginning pitching is a logical goal with the place participant group in robust form. And there needs to be some powder dry for reinforcements. The membership went narrowly over the $237MM aggressive stability tax this 12 months, with RosterResource at present pegging their quantity a bit over $238MM. Subsequent 12 months’s tally is barely at $126MM proper now. Arbitration raises for guys like Paredes and Steele will definitely add to that quantity and it’ll develop considerably if Bellinger decides to remain, however there’ll nonetheless be room for a notable contract.
Hoyer hasn’t performed on the high of the market by way of beginning pitching however has given out some mid-market offers. As proven within the MLBTR Contract Tracker once more, Imanaga, Taillon and Marcus Stroman have every obtained assured between $53MM and $71MM, the biggest ensures the Cubs have given to beginning pitchers within the Hoyer period.
This winter’s beginning pitching class shall be topped by guys like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Blake Snell, assuming Snell stays wholesome and opts out of his deal. Signing any of these guys would possible require the Cubs to go to a brand new stage of spending, stepping into nine-figure territory. In the event that they need to keep in that Stroman/Taillon/Imanaga tier, they’d most likely be debating names like Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Nick Pivetta and others. Corridor-of-Fame-bound veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander shall be restricted to short-term offers since they’re each of their 40s and coming off injury-plagued years in 2024.
The commerce market shall be another choice for the Cubs. The White Sox didn’t find yourself flipping Garrett Crochet on the deadline however may maybe make him out there once more within the winter. The Marlins misplaced nearly all their rotation choices to harm this 12 months nevertheless it’s attainable to see them contemplating offers because the group will get more healthy for 2025. Considerably equally, the Rays appear to have an abundance of rotation choices with Jeffrey Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen returned from longs absences, with Shane McClanahan to hitch them subsequent 12 months. Different prospects will certainly emerge because the winter goes on.
It will likely be an attention-grabbing offseason for the Cubs. Their signing of Swanson heading into 2023 appeared to sign a want to return to competition after a few rebuilding years. They’d a strong however unspectacular 12 months in 2023, successful 83 video games. They could high that right here in 2024, at present at 80-76, however will miss the postseason once more. Stress figures to be excessive for a membership that hasn’t made the postseason in a full marketing campaign since 2018, however lots of good components are in place and some ending touches may maybe get them over the hump in 2025.
