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The Cubs and the three ways they can spice up their squad
With the possibility of no baseball this season, the Chicago Cubs need to plan for the foreseeable future.
This past offseason wasn’t perfect for the Chicago Cubs. After losing key contributors who were very significant during the season. One of those significant contributors was Cole Hamels, who started all 27 games pitched for the Cubs. Hamels would end up leaving the Windy City and sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves.
The team would go on to lose most of their bullpen as most of them sign a one-year deal with a new team. Another pitcher the Cubs would lose was Pedro Strop, who has been with the team for the last seven years. He was the ideal choice in a late-inning situation. Unfortunately, Strop signed a deal with one of the Cubs’ central division rivals, the Cincinnati Reds.
On the offensive side, the Cubs lost a considerable player that helped out the outfield in a big way. Joining Strop in Cinncinati, Nicholas Castellanos joins them after signing a four-year deal this past offseason. Castellanos played in 51 games for the Cubbies, but he produced as soon as he got to Chicago. Hitting 16 home runs late in the season helped him have an outstanding .321 batting average.
As we all know, the Cubs need to look ahead and have a plan that will get them back into the playoffs and hopefully again in the World Series. Below are three different ways the Cubs can spice up their offseason.
Chicago Cubs: Rizzo, Baez needs a new contract
Anthony Rizzo has been in the Cubs’ organization since 2012. Over 1,000 games played in a Cubs uniform, the 6’3” first baseman has become a fan favorite as a member of the famous “Bryzzo” duo with teammate Kris Byant. Back in 2013, Rizzo signed a seven-year, $41 million contract extension with the Cubs. As the team picked his $16.5 million option for the 2020 season, be on the lookout for talks between him and the club in the upcoming months.
Rizzo had one of his best seasons last year, he hit an average of .293, while posting a career-best .405 on-base percentage. Rizzo also hit 27 home runs to go along with 94 RBIs. Cubs fans around the world would be heartbroken if Rizzo weren’t resigned to a new deal, and they saw him in any other uniform beside the Cubs uniform.
One of the most electrifying players across the sport of baseball happens to be one of our own. Javier Baez has been dazzling fans all over with his magical swim move slide or his no-look tags on runners trying to steal second.
Baez has been a Cub for the last six years, with over 100 career home runs in the Cubbie blue. While he is under the team’s control until 2021, the team doesn’t want to wait as they are continuing to have talks. The now 27-year-old is amazing sports fans not just by his fielding skills but also with his monster bat. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the discussions have taken a break.
Chicago Cubs: Figuring out who plays second base
A big question for the team is, who is going to play second base? I would say the team has one of if not the most significant depth at this position. From experienced players to rookies, the Cubs have an outstanding amount of talent to figure out. The option endless when it comes to the second base.
The first option could be the outstanding upcoming star, Nico Hoerner. A 2018 draft pick of the Cubs, made a name for himself when he made his debut for the club as he collected not only his first hit but his first three hits of his career as he blasted four RBIs in a 10-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Another option is David Bote, a utility man for the Cubs. Bote can play where ever they put them and do it well. Not only is his fielding at an incredibly amazing, but the power of his swing is also magnificent. Only in his two seasons with the team, Bote has a batting average of .251 and has a 3.2 WAR rating.
The last two options have probably are the most experienced players on the Cubs roster. One is Jason Kipnis, who joined the team from Cleveland. Kipnis, by far, the highest career WAR, and only Daniel Descalso can match his playoff experience. Descalso the other option with experience, but he hasn’t been doing much for the club. He is more of a body on the team than a player who can perform day in and out.
Chicago Cubs: Looking at the starting rotation & bullpen
Looking ahead to the starting pitchers who are going to be free agents after this year, there are some former Cubs that could be available for them to bring back and help the squad. A lot of us remember what Jake Arrieta did as a member of the team.
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He pitched, not just one but two no-hitters wearing the blue uni. He also was a force back in 2016 when the Cubs won it all. How many of you guys remember the name Jeff Samardzija? He hasn’t been a Cub since 2014. During his time in the Windy City, the 6’5” right-hander punched out 639 batters and had a quite high 3.97 ERA.
One of the fears many of us have is Jon Lester leaving us to return to Boston. Lester spent eight seasons in Boston, so you can imagine he wants to end his career where it all began. He signed a six-year $155 million deal with the team back in 2015.
If he leaves, do the Cubs pursue some younger talent like Taijuan Walker of the Seattle Mariners and Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks? Can we count on Tyler Chatwood and Jose Quintana to carry the load along with Kyle Hendricks? Or do we look ahead to the talent in our minor league system?
As for the bullpen, with departures of Strop and others, The team needs to pursue talent that can help in late situations. Most of the Cubs losses last year came by only one or two runs giving up late by our bullpen.
Takeaways from the Cubs' 2020 Draft. dark. Next
A couple of big names that stand out more than others are Oliver Perez and Sergio Romo. Both of these men have an excellent reputation when it comes to late-game situations. Like Kipnis, Perez is a longtime Cleveland Indian while Romo has won multiple championships with the San Francisco Giants.
Who would you like to see come back to join the Cubs? Would you want Arrieta, Samardzija again? Let me know down in the comments below.