Cubs could make a $42 million move to end a constant bullpen problem

With the World Series officially over, Jed Hoyer is on the clock. The Chicago Cubs now have to get to work to improve a squad that fell short of expectations and fell further behind the champion Milwaukee Brewers than ever. That starts with the pitching staff. Matthew Boyd and Clay Holmes both declined their respective options as expected, leaving plenty of holes to fill in a rotation that desperately needs help.

However, after taking far too long to hammer out last season, the bullpen needs to be addressed as well. Hoyer will be starting with a much better base this time around, with Daniel Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn returning, Jacob Webb's option a near certainty to be picked up, Phil Maton coming back from knee surgery, and Ryan Rolison following up a breakout 2026 campaign. More certainty would still be nice, though, coming off a season in which they ranked 13th in relief ERA at 3.90 but bottom-five with a 4.53 FIP.

Most of the money they'll have to work with this offseason will go to rebuilding the rotation with higher-quality arms. As we've discussed before, though, the biggest name on the relief market, Adrian Morejon, is about as good a fit for this team as possible. He's coming off a season with a 2.83 ERA and 2.37 FIP, complete with not just an average fastball velocity of 99 mph that would help their need for more swing-and-miss, but a 58.1% groundball rate that would play up even more in a defense that's about to win the team Gold Glove. He also may not cost as much as expected.

The Athletic recently released its breakdown of the Top 40 free agents this offseason, with team fits and contract predictions for each. Morejon came in 11th on the list as the highest-ranked reliever with a salary expected to land around the 3-year, $42 million range. It's a lot for one bullpen arm, but considering everything he has going for him, the over feels worth betting on.

Mason Miller took up much of the spotlight in San Diego, but his hard-throwing lefty teammate had an eye-popping season worthy of earning a ninth-inning or relief ace role somewhere. Although his past two seasons were also great, both the groundball and 30.8% strikeout rate were his highest over a full season's workload. He also posted an expected ERA, expected batting average, chase percentage, whiff rate, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and more in the 90th percentile or better. All while keeping his walk rate at a manageable 8%.

To top it off, Morejon is young. 2026 was his age-27 season, meaning he's still in his prime. That should make any team more comfortable signing him to a longer-term deal than most relievers. He did experience some "stickiness" in his shoulder during the postseason, according to manager Craig Stammen, and his 86 regular-season innings are a massive workload, but he's been a mostly durable force ever since his 2024 breakout campaign. Just make sure to review his medicals closely.

The Cubs would face tough competition to sign Adrian Morejon

Some of Morejon's comps range from Tanner Scott's 4-year, $76 million pact with the Dodgers to Robert Suarez's 3-year, $45 million deal in Atlanta. It's easy to imagine a competitive team landing somewhere in that range and beating The Athletic's prediction to get a top-end arm. Of all teams, however, a reunion with San Diego may be most likely. Although they have a stacked bullpen, there's reportedly mutual interest in a reunion since Morejon has spent his whole career there, and nobody will know his medical situation quite like the Padres.

Nonetheless, if the price tag is at that spot, the Cubs should be all over him. For luxury purposes, they currently have around $68 million worth of space under the threshold, and there's no reason they shouldn't return to at least 2026's spending levels, barring some major changes to the CBA. They have the room to add more certainty to the back end of the bullpen and rock with a core that inspires some real confidence, even without any of Hoyer's typical reclamation projects.

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