3 left-handed relief arms to help the Cubs replace Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz

Despite a big swing-and-a-miss on the Ryan Pressly trade, Jed Hoyer's tried-and-true approach to bullpen building paid off in 2025, thanks to the likes of Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz, not to mention guys like Chris Flexen, outperforming projections by a wide margin.

The Chicago Cubs could reunite with Keller, Thielbar and Pomeranz in free agency this offseason, but it's been a relative rarity to see Hoyer circle back after guys defy the odds and pitch well on one-year deals. We've talked about Keller and his desire to return to Chicago next season, but assuming Thielbar and Pomeranz move on, here are 3 free-agent lefties who could round out the team's bullpen mix.

3 free-agent lefties who could be offseason fits for the Cubs

Gregory Soto

Heading into his age-31 campaign, Gregory Soto has long been a guy who seems to have all the makings of a shutdown reliever, but can't quite put it all together. Given the Cubs' organizational track record and the resume of the team's pitch lab, signing with Chicago could help him finally get over the hump.

A two-time All-Star earlier in his career with the Tigers, Soto split the 2025 season between the Mets and Orioles. He struggled after getting traded to Baltimore at the deadline, but he's got a solid record of reliability at the big-league level. The lefty finished the year with a 3.42 FIP and 10.4 K/9 across 70 appearances.

His elite velocity could make him especially attractive to a team like the Cubs, whose staff needs more swing-and-miss heading into 2026. But given his upside and age, his price tag could be higher than Hoyer would like - and he could command a multi-year deal.

Hoby Milner

An aging southpaw who doesn't rack up strikeouts, but limits hard contact and keeps the ball on the ground? Hoby Milner - you, sir, are a perfect Jed Hoyer target.

The nine-year MLB veteran pitched for the Rangers this year after spending the previous four seasons in Milwaukee - and since the start of the 2022 campaign has quietly been impressive, logging 264 innings of 3.21 FIP ball. Throw in the familiarity with Craig Counsell from his Brewers tenure and we begin to check a lot of boxes here.

His role over the years has fluctuated. Primarily, he's been a middle relief arm, but he thrived as a late-inning setup man in Texas, so he's got some flexibility. A one-year deal in the $2-4 million range could get the deal done.

Danny Coulombe

Picking Thielbar off the scrap heap from Minnesota worked well enough, so why not dip back into that pool with Danny Coulombe? The St. Louis native just turned 36 in October and has been an extremely effective bullpen arm for the last half-decade, with a 3.22 FIP across more than 170 innings.

He battled a couple of injuries this season and he definitely doesn't add the velocity the Cubs should be targeting. But he does limit hard contact and is good at getting hitters to expand the zone. A one-year deal as a middle-relief arm for Chicago makes sense for everyone involved.