2 Cubs who might not survive the looming non-tender deadline

With awards season in the rearview mirror and Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge repeating as each league's respective MVP, Tarik Skubal bringing home his second straight Cy Young and Paul Skenes following up his 2024 Rookie of the Year win with this year's NL Cy Young, we turn our attention to the offseason itself.

The winter soft-launched last week in Las Vegas for the GM Meetings, a precursor to the December Winter Meetings. While no major moves were announced, front offices had conversations with agents and one another, potentially laying the groundwork for deals to come.

In less than a week, one of the first major dates of the offseason hits in the Nov. 21 MLB non-tender deadline.

Last November, the Cubs non-tendered Nick Madrigal and Mike Tauchman, and this year, two names jump out as potential non-tender candidates in right-handed reliever Eli Morgan and veteran journeyman backstop Reese McGuire.

Reese McGuire, Eli Morgan are 2 potential Cubs non-tender candidates

With Kyle Tucker a near-guarantee to depart in free agency, the Cubs seem content to rely on Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros to make up for those at-bats, with Seiya Suzuki sliding back to right field along with Caissie to cover that position. That means Ballesteros needs regular at-bats as a DH, with the hope he can be solid enough defensively that Craig Counsell can use him to spell Michael Busch at first or as a third catcher on the 26-man roster.

Assuming that's the case, there's just not a path to playing time for a player like McGuire, who played a critical role behind Carson Kelly this year with Miguel Amaya injured and limited to just 28 games. With Amaya back to 100 percent, Kelly returning for year two and Ballesteros waiting in the wings, it seems like McGuire is going to be on the chopping block.

The other name that's coming up is Morgan, who was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians last November. Injuries limited him to just seven games - and he did not appear in a big-league game after mid-April. In 2026, he'll be just two years removed from a 1.93 ERA season with Cleveland - and is projected to earn just over $1 million - so Jed Hoyer might want to keep him in the fold to see what he can offer when healthy, especially considering the ongoing bullpen overhaul.

There are plenty of teams that will be directly impacted more significantly than the Cubs next week. But given how bargain-friendly the front office is, Chicago definitely makes sense as a club to watch as the dust settles on the deadline and some new names hit the open market.