Cubs Rumors: Team looking at 'all' of the free agent closers and relievers

Cubs Convention is this weekend and we're just over a month from the first Cactus League game - but there's still work to do if you're Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins and the Chicago Cubs front office.

Another rotation addition like trade candidate Pablo Lopez or free-agent right-hander Jack Flaherty would be huge, but shoring up the bullpen is just as - if not more - important given the lack of proven options on the depth chart right now, especially in the late innings.

To that end, ESPN's Jesse Rogers says the Cubs are connected to 'all' of the available relievers and closers - but cautions there's only a 'tiny' chance Chicago lands the top bullpen prize, free-agent closer Tanner Scott.

The left-hander is the longest of long-shots for an organization that historically A) avoids long-term deals for relievers and B) prefers low-dollar contracts in the bullpen. Scott figures to get both of those things, projected for a four-year deal somewhere in the $60 million neighborhood - far outside anything Hoyer has ever given a reliever.

Scott would be a dream signing for the Cubs, a team that's lacked a bona fide closer for the better part of a decade on the heels of the failed Craig Kimbrel experiment and the latest multi-year rebuild. Rookie Porter Hodge stepped up in a big way last year after both Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris struggled in the ninth inning - but asking him to replicate that in 2025 could be a tall ask.

After all, he made the jump to the big leagues after all of 13 Triple-A appearances and was nothing short of dominant, working to a 1.88 ERA, 2.75 FIP and 0.884 WHIP across 43 innings of work. His being lights-out in his first full MLB campaign isn't out of the question, but it's also not something you should predicate the success of your team's bullpen around.

Looking to that next tier of late-inning arms, keep an eye on names like Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, David Robertson and Kyle Finnegan as potential Cubs targets in the coming days and weeks. Hoyer has assembled his usual hodge-podge of cast-offs, aging veterans and reclamation projects on his Island of Misfit Toys - but with $40+ million left before the team hits the first CBT threshold, he needs to focus on more certainty in the late innings.