Chicago Cubs: Here’s my personal wish list for the team this winter

The Chicago Cubs are facing an uncertain offseason. What will the club look like under new manager David Ross? Here’s one opinion on what should happen.

After winning the World Series in 2016, it’s been three straight years of regression for the Chicago Cubs. In 2017, they lost in the National League Championship Series and in 2018 they lost in the NL Wild Card Game. Then this season, inconsistency plagued this team before a nine-game losing streak in September knocked them out of the playoff race, leading to a disappointing 84-78 record.

As such, the team is facing both its most important and its most uncertain offseason in years. The pitching certainly needs to be addressed, while on offense second base and center field were problems last year. In addition, the front office faces several tough decisions on whether to bring players back next year.

In a perfect world, we’d re-sign Nicholas Castellanos, trade for Mookie Betts and sign Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon… but that’s not all going to happen. We have to be realistic. To that end, I’ve tried to put together a realistic plan that will improve this team enough to be a serious contender in the National League Central in 2020.