The final week of the offseason has arrived for the Chicago Cubs. Next Sunday, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Arizona as the Cubs will be the first team in Major League Baseball to report for Spring Training.
The early report date is due to the Cubs playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japan during the middle of March. The two-game series will serve as the start of the regular season for each team.
With one week remaining, there is a lot to like about the moves that Jed Hoyer has made this offseason. Hoyer made a pair of aggressive trades in acquiring Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros. In adding Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea to the team's pitching staff, the Cubs once again have a healthy amount of rotation depth.
The floor of the Cubs' bench has also risen with the additions of catcher Carson Kelly and utility infielders Jon Berti and Vidal Bruján.
If nothing else, the moves the Cubs have made this offseason has brought them closer to competing with the Milwaukee Brewers for the being the best team in the National League Central. However, the Cubs shouldn't leave room for doubt. There are moves still on the table that the Cubs should finalize this week.
Three Chicago Cubs moves we want to see during the final week of the offseason.
Sign Alex Bregman
- The Cubs shouldn't shy away from being opportunistic with adding good players, even if it means the playing time for a top prospect will be altered. The Cubs remain in the mix for Bregman and if they find a way to be creative and add the All-Star third baseman, not only would they be viewed as the best team in the National League Central but one of the better teams in the National League.
Sign David Robertson
- The Cubs' bullpen is in a much better spot to open the 2025 season than where it was at the end of the 2024 season. The trade for Pressly should give the Cubs a formidable backend tandem, with the former Astros' closer being paired with Porter Hodge. Ben Brown returning to health should also give the Cubs the highly-coveted bullpen ace who can pitch multiple innings per appearance. Adding Robertson would only further solidify the Cubs' bullpen while taking pressure off Hodge to find success in his first full season at the Major League level.
Sign Jack Flaherty
- One of the stated goals for the Chicago Cubs this offseason was to add an established starting pitcher near the top of their rotation. Boyd and Rea do not check that box. However, with Jack Flaherty still a free agent, the Cubs should pounce. At this stage of the offseason, Flaherty, who doesn''t have a qualifying offer attached to his free agency, likely would be willing to accept a short-team, high-AAV type of deal. A deal that the Cubs' front office has loved to make in the past. If the week ends with nothing else but Flaherty added to the Cubs' rotation, that is a great way to end the offseason.