Chicago Cubs: What holes will the team look to fill this offseason?

With the 2019 season coming to a bitter, disappointing end, a Chicago Cubs lineup once thought so highly of now looks riddled with holes, leaving a lot of work ahead for Theo Epstein and the front office.

The Chicago Cubs haven’t looked this vulnerable since 2014 when they missed the postseason for a sixth straight season. Now, with Joe Maddon out as manager, it’s clear that massive changes are in order.

Theo Epstein is still looking for the Cubs to be competitive in 2020 according to Chris Emma of 670 the Score, but it’s going to require a lot of retooling of the roster. It will also require the Ricketts to open their pocketbooks for any additions Epstein may have in order.

Despite still boasting a wealth of talent in its core, the Cubs never really had a great supporting cast around Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras. As for pitching, very little went right, with Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Cole Hamels all struggling down the stretch and the bullpen being suspect all year long.

To add to that, alongside Maddon leaving are many other possible free agents like Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, Hamels, and Ben Zobrist. There’s also a possibility of the team letting Quintana walk this year instead of picking up his option.

That’s not to say all is bad, but a majority of the positions outside of the range of the core four really struggled in 2019 and they’re about to get thinner. Among the Cubs biggest concerns, however, are second base, center field, the starting rotation, and the bullpen.

Chicago Cubs: Center field is team’s biggest concern in the outfield

If second base was the biggest hole in the infield, center field was just as ineffective in the outfield. The Cubs could not get much production out of anyone in center despite having a “regular” in Albert Almora.

Almora took major steps backward after a solid 2018 campaign, posting a 66 OPS+ and -7 defensive runs saved. Though it’s painful to see his offense regress, his defensive decline is most troubling considering he saved 12 runs just last year and defense has been one of his strongest assets thus far.

Once the team traded for Nicholas Castellanos, Jason Heyward got the lion’s share of time in center field with Almora struggling. Heyward provided adequate defense in center while posting a 98 OPS+, but he is better utilized in right field where his defense is gold glove caliber.

This is where the Chicago Cubs need to make some sort of acquisition, especially considering they don’t have a quality prospect to play center field next year. Also, while Heyward is serviceable in center, keeping him there long term only limits the production of the outfield.

There may be a case for Happ to play center field, but he’s still a question mark considering he wasn’t even on the major league roster for most of the season. Once he came back though, he showed a definite improvement at the plate, posting a a 126 OPS+ and slugging at a .546 clip in an admittedly small sample size.

Even if the team re-signs Castellanos and Happ continues showing signs of improvement, a solid center fielder should remain at the top of their shopping list. When a position is only garnering a measly 86 OPS+, something needs to be drastically changed.

Chicago Cubs: Shaky bullpen, late-season pitching woes doom team

Unlike the previous two positions, the Chicago Cubs pitching staff can boast some major successes. Yu Darvish pulled a complete 180 after the All-Star break and became the team’s best starter while Kyle Ryan and Brandon Kintzler revived their careers with strong performances.

Yet, the team still lacked in the pitching department. Lester, Quintana, and Hamels all took a turn for the worst down the stretch. Lester in particular saw his ERA balloon to 4.46, his worst mark since 2012, while allowing a league leading 205 hits.

Hamels dealt with injuries and never really found his groove again, though he still managed to finish below a 4.00 ERA due to a strong first half. Quintana was the worst of the three, however, completely collapsing in the second half, resulting in a 4.68 ERA: the highest of his entire career.

This is all said without even addressing the bullpen, which was rocky despite putting up decent numbers. Though the team managed a 3.98 ERA in the bullpen, they also blew 28 saves this season, indicating a distinct lack of clutch pitching.

Craig Kimbrel, who was thought to be the Chicago Cubs’ biggest acquisition before the trade deadline at the time, was worse than anyone could imagine, ending with a staggering 6.53 ERA. However, he’s still under contract for another two years with an option for 2022, so he has time to bounce back.

The team will also lose many key contributors to the bullpen, including Cishek, Strop, and Kintzler, to free agency. Strop wasn’t particularly good at all this season, but both Kintzler and Cishek anchored the back end of the ‘pen, leaving the front office to either look to some of the organization’s minor league arms or free agents to fill in for similar production.

The Chicago Cubs front office will have their work cut out over the coming months, but at least they have an idea of what the biggest concerns are. Hopefully, the team can retool itself to turn these weaknesses into potential strengths in 2020.