Chicago Cubs: Expect plenty of competition for roles this spring

Given the lack of additions this offseason, internal competition will likely be the story for the Chicago Cubs when the team heads to Mesa next month.

A week into the new year – and still, the Chicago Cubs have yet to sign a free agent to a major league deal. That’s jarring, to say the least, given the team’s financial might and their big market status, but here we are regardless.

While teams like the division rival Cincinnati Reds and crosstown foe Chicago White Sox have taken major steps forward, with each team arguably serving as the biggest winners so far this winter, the Cubs have been quiet – dead quiet.

They’ve picked up some buy-low guys who will get a shot to compete for a roster spot this spring, but hardly the type of talent needed to help an 84-win team get back to the postseason in 2020. So far, the core remains intact – despite incessant trade rumors involving the likes of Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and even Anthony Rizzo.

Chicago’s plan seems pretty clear: once again, hope this group can get the job done. It hasn’t worked in each of the past two years. The Colorado Rockies bounced the Cubs in the 2018 Wild Card game after a brutal month of September and then missed the postseason altogether in 2019.