Cubs could turn losing to the Dodgers in free agency into a win with these 3 moves

After a recent flurry of moves that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers add Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates within a week, the team is now looking to move off relief pitchers to clear space on its 40-man roster and clean up the roster crunch on the pitching staff.

As has been the case all winter, the Chicago Cubs are in the market for back-end relief pitching, so here are three names that Chicago should pursue to shore up the bullpen in the closing weeks of the offseason.

Ryan Brasier

Ryan Brasier is gaining the most interest across baseball, as reported by Bob Nightengale.

Brasier has a career 3.85 ERA over eight seasons and would certainly be an upgrade in the Chicago bullpen. The right-hander has been mostly a reliever in his career but did start four games as an opener for Los Angeles in 2024. He could be worth taking a chance on and could flex between multiple roles in the bullpen, potentially even as the team's closer when Porter Hodge is unavailable.

Anthony Banda

Although his career 4.92 ERA might scare some away from Anthony Banda, he just had a career season in 2024 with a 3.08 ERA and 126 ERA+. With lefties Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott now in the Los Angeles bullpen, Banda may be the odd man out as a third left-hander. It is no secret that Chicago has recently struggled to find relievers to get left-handed hitters out, so Banda would fit that role well and give the Cubs another option outside of Luke Little.

Brusdar Graterol

This one may be a long shot but, wow, it would be fun to have Brusdar Graterol at the back end of the bullpen with Hodge. When healthy, Graterol's energy and electricity on the mound are nearly unmatched. He appeared in just seven games and will miss the first half of the 2025 season after undergoing labrum surgery. Getting him back in the second half as a late-inning lockdown reliever could be exactly what Chicago needs for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.

Any of these three relievers would be a welcome addition to a Chicago bullpen that needs to be upgraded before the start of the season.