Jameson Taillon offers a glass-half-full take on the Cubs and their offseason so far

With the exception of top offseason additions Michael Busch and Shota Imanaga, the Chicago Cubs largely ran it back this year with a team that took the 2023 regular season down to the wire, just barely missing out on punching its postseason ticket.

The end result? An identical 83-79 record and another October spent at home.

That's despite the fact Busch turned in a solid rookie showing in Chicago, finishing the year with 2.3 fWAR and a 119 wRC+ while learning how to play first base on the fly at the big-league level. And Imanaga was otherworldly, finishing fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting after a 3.0 fWAR season that included 29 starts, a 2.91 ERA and 174 strikeouts.

Taillon also turned in a quietly impressive season, especially coming on the heels of his first season on the North Side which got off to a very rocky start. In 2024, though, the veteran was the epitome of consistency, working to a 3.27 in 28 starts slotted in behind Imanaga and Justin Steele.

In a sitdown with The Athletic (subscription required), Taillon was his usual optimistic self, talking with Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma about an array of topics, including the front office's approach to a crucial offseason.

"Everything I see is the front office probably trying to be creative to make us the best team possible, no matter what that looks like. The player side of me who’s attached to everybody on the team — you don’t want to see anyone go. And I know we’re better than what we were last year. But you also can’t sit here and pound the table and not expect moves to be made and just run it back."

It's nice to see that, yes, Taillon believes in the guys in the clubhouse - but even he knows that running it back again after how this year played out isn't in the cards.

Content to inexplicably sit on the sidelines in the Juan Soto sweepstakes and with little to suggest they'll play at the top of the free agent market in any way, shape or form, the success of the offseason may very well hinge on Hoyer's ability to pull off impact trades. The Cubs have one of the deepest farm systems in the league and need to turn some of those prospects into big-league assets to help raise the ceiling of the 26-man roster.

Taillon also weighed in on the constant flow of Cody Bellinger trade rumors this winter, as well - and this remark hit it on the nose:

"In the offseason, it might sound like a good idea or whatever, salary-wise, but you have a guy that can play all over the field. You just hope you don’t have an unfortunate situation in-season where you’re like, “Man, we wish we had Cody.”"

Ding, ding, ding. Taillon had nothing but good things to say about Bellinger the player or the person. There's a real-world scenario where the Cubs move him and don't demonstratively improve - at least in terms of the on-field assortment of talent. Trades - and change, in general - is exciting in sports. But for his part, the veteran seemed to toe the line between supporting Bellinger and wanting to see the front office improve the team heading into 2025.

With the young arms making their way through the system, Taillon - a former first-round pick - will be an invaluable mentor on the pitching staff over the next two years. Hopefully, he can bring the same consistency we saw from him in 2024 and he plays a key role both on the field and off it as the Cubs look to return to relevancy.