Historically weak free agent class could force Cubs, Jed Hoyer back to the trade market

It's hardly an encouraging sign to be a fan of a team, like the Chicago Cubs, who head into the offseason needing to make some meaningful additions if they want to be taken seriously next year. That's even more so the case when this winter's free-agent class, according to new rankings from The Athletic (subscription required), is one of the worst in recent memory.

In the last decade, only one offseason had a worse group of free agents and that came back in 2017, when a pair of World Series champion Cubs were among the headliners in Dexter Fowler and Aroldis Chapman. That winter, Chicago's big move came in the form of the Wade Davis trade with Kansas City that sent slugging outfield prospect Jorge Soler to the Royals.

As far as free agents went, though, it wasn't exactly a star-studded haul for the Cubs that year: Jon Jay, Koji Uehara, Brett Anderson and Brian Duensing. If Jed Hoyer refuses or is unable to make a serious run at this winter's top free agent, Tarik Skubal, we could be looking at a similar talent pool this time around.

There is a bright spot, though. The biggest strength of this class is the pitching, which is the Cubs' top need. Behind Skubal, you have names like Freddy Peralta, Sonny Gray, Michael King, Adrian Morejon and more. If you're more of a glass half-empty person, the sparse talent on the position player side probably has you feeling pretty uneasy about the idea of the Cubs letting Ian Happ and/or Seiya Suzuki walk.

Jed Hoyer has the pieces to test the trade market again this winter

Last winter, Hoyer's headlining trade was the (at least so far) ill-fated acquisition of right-hander Edward Cabrera. The Cubs sent top prospect Owen Caissie to the Miami Marlins in the deal and it's safe to say neither side got what it wanted out of the trade - at least not yet.

There are a number of attractive and potentially available names out there this winter, including the likes of Mariners starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan and more. Of course, there's speculation guys like Ronald Acuña Jr. or Mason Miller could be shopped, but you can't bet on that happening.

And if all this wasn't complicated enough, you can layer in the CBA talks and likely lockout over top all of it. It's obvious, but needs to be said. Hoyer and the Cubs have their work cut out for them heading into an offseason that could define this team's current contention window.

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