This offseason has been a much-needed change of pace from years past for the Chicago Cubs, and they may not be done yet. Even after signing Marcus Stroman to by far the largest contract, the team has given out in some time, the Cubs have been consistently linked to the top free agent of the class, Carlos Correa.
It’s been a breath of fresh air for fans to see the organization be in the thick of free agency, and stay true to their word that they’d spend “intelligently” in order to upgrade the roster. Assuming the Cubs stay the course with their self-proclaimed intelligent spending strategy and bring Correa to the North Side, it would certainly go a long way toward getting the team back into contention.
However, even if Correa is brought into the mix, the Cubs will still have work to do before they’re ready to be a postseason team again. This was a team that was torn down to the studs at the trade deadline, and while big spending will certainly accelerate the rebuild/retool efforts, there’s still a good amount of holes on the roster that need patching up.
Perhaps the most glaring weakness on the team currently is the outfield. As it stands now, you can make the argument that the outfield has no reliable pieces in it. The main candidates that are returning from last season are Jason Heyward, who is coming off the worst offensive season of his career, Ian Happ, who simply can’t find any consistency, and Rafael Ortega, a journeyman who caught fire with the Cubs last year.