2 moves the Cubs need to make in the wake of the Brewers' Freddy Peralta trade

At face value, watching the team that's had your division in a strangehold of late deal an All-Star pitcher coming off a top-5 finish in Cy Young voting feels good. But Chicago Cubs fans have seen this tale before and know that it probably won't be long before the Milwaukee Brewers' two new additions serving as thorns in the side of their rivals to the south.

In case you missed it, the long-speculated Freddy Peralta trade finally came to fruition late Wednesday, with Milwaukee sending the right-hander to the New York Mets in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

Williams, a consensus top-30 prospect in baseball, fits the Brewers' player profile perfectly. Defensively versatile, a speed threat - just a guy who can beat you in so many ways. Meanwhile, Sproat, a right-handed pitching prospect, can run his fastball into the upper-90s and profiles as a legitimate mid-rotation starter long-term.

Before those guys establish themselves at the big-league level, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs need to get their house in order and look to take back the NL Central. They've already had quite the offseason, trading for Edward Cabrera, signing Alex Bregman and re-making the bullpen, but that doesn't mean it's pencils down just yet.

2 moves the Cubs can still make before the offseason wraps up

Bring in Andrew McCutchen for veteran leadership, bench depth

Andrew McCutchen is universally loved - and that's coming from a site dedicated to a team he's had plenty of big moments against in his 17-year MLB career. At age 39, his best days are behind him. But that doesn't mean he doesn't still have something to offer.

Last year with Pittsburgh, McCutchen slashed just .239/.333/.367, slightly below average in terms of wRC+ and OPS+, but still serviceable if you're thinking of him as a veteran bench piece heading into 2026. The Cubs' bench was abysmal last year and adding someone like the former 2013 NL MVP could, again, not only provide another veteran leader but also bolster the outfield depth.

And if the Cubs don't love the fit here, I'd happily 'settle' for someone like Mike Tauchman, who's coming off a .263/.356/.400 slash line on the South Side last year.

Make a run at Zac Gallen to complete an embarrassment of rotation riches

On paper, a Zac Gallen signing doesn't make a ton of sense. With Cabrera already in the fold, the Cubs are swimming in starting depth that includes Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Colin Rea, Justin Steele (once he returns from injury in the first half), Ben Brown, Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks and Jaxon Wiggins.

But Gallen offers an upside that many of those guys can't - a former Cy Young finalist - we already know the Cubs are continuing conversations on. Having another piece of that caliber greatly diminishes the worries that exist over the fact Boyd is coming off a huge workload, Horton is yet to throw more than 118 innings in a single season, Steele missed much of 2025 and Cabrera has a checkered health history.

Would it feel like an embarrassment of riches? Sure. But the Brewers never stay down for long (heck, we don't even know if 2025 will be a 'down' year for them). The Cubs need to take this offseason from 'good' to 'great', push their chips in and take advantage of this situation.