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2 trades and 1 signing that turn the Cubs from pretenders to contenders
The Chicago Cubs have had a boring, frustrating offseason. If they made these moves, all of that would be forgotten and the hype would runneth over.
The Chicago Cubs have chosen to take this offseason and re-group without making any large scale changes. That’s why it was determined that they had the most disappointing offseason in Major League Baseball.
Despite having the money to make moves, the front office has appeared willing to run it back in 2024 with essentially the same team that missed the 2023 playoffs by a game with the only major difference being Craig Counsell at the end of the bench instead of David Ross.
However, if the Cubs decide to wake up and turn the offseason around there are two trades and a signing that could move them from being a bad bet to being the odds-on favorites to win the NL Central.
#1: Re-signing Cody Bellinger remains at the top of the to-do list
These deals are going to be prioritized in order of what is most likely to improve the team and propel them to winning the division and hopefully a lot more than that.
Cody Bellinger is the obvious target and he’s the one of the remaining Boras clients that fans and current Cubs’ players want to see on this roster, no disrespect to Matt Chapman.
There are the fans that believe that “overspending” on free agents is a bad call. While their holier than thou attitude toward saving money that isn’t theirs to begin with so that they can continue to watch an inferior product on the field is incredibly compelling, we’re going to disregard it and point to the obvious fact that Bellinger improves this baseball team.
With Bellinger being back on this club it relieves stress in many other areas. If Pete Crow-Armstrong dominates spring training, that’s great and Bellinger can play first base and if not then Bellinger can play center until PCA is ready for it.
If Michael Busch proves the Jackson Ferris trade wasn’t a colossal mistake and dominates at the plate then he can either take first base or DH and that would push Christopher Morel to third base. However, if Busch struggles, then having Bellinger allows us to not have to force a prospect that isn’t ready to fill a first base hole like we did last year with Matt Mervis.
If Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Christopher Morel and Cody Bellinger all dominate at the plate but we have a logjam at DH because Morel struggles defensively at third base, then that will lead us to the next move the Cubs should make.
WHAT'S THE MOVE? Sign Cody Bellinger to an eight-year $200 million dollar deal (AAV $25M) with a player option that kicks in after the 3rd, 4th and 5th seasons.
#2: Re-load the pitching staff by trading for Guardians right-handers Emmanuel Clase and Shane Bieber
Earlier this offseason we posited that a trade for these two players could help both clubs and in a poll of industry insiders both of these players were mentioned multiple times as potential trade chips. This isn’t a Guardians website so we’re going to focus on the Cubs side of this deal first.
Right now the Cubs have improved their bullpen with the trade for Yency Almonte, the signing of Hector Neris and through a little addition via subtraction now that Michael Fulmer is in Boston.
That being said, the bullpen was the thing that led to the Cubs falling apart down the stretch and even though Counsell should manage the pen better than Ross did last season there’s no such thing as too many high-leverage relievers.
If the Cubs were to get Clase they’d be getting the best closer in baseball over the last two seasons that will be locked up until after the 2028 season. Even with Adbert Alzolay pitching well last season, Counsell recently admitted that he doesn’t have a closer in mind for the 2024 and will figure it out as spring training gets going. Clase would change that.
At the same time the Cubs would be adding a right-handed starter that would offset their very lefty-heavy rotation as we head into the season and also help Cubs’ fans avoid starting a season with Drew Smyly in the rotation.
In order to get two All-Star caliber players, the return would be costly. In this deal we would see the Cubs give away their ninth (Wicks) and 12th (Canario) best prospects but they’d also include Christopher Morel who may be the odd man out when the music stops on our game of defensive musical chairs.
If Morel can’t play third and Pete-Crow Armstrong and Michael Busch earn the job in center field and designated hitter respectively, then as exciting as his bat can be, he simply doesn’t have a home.
WHAT'S THE MOVE? Trade UTIL Christopher Morel, OF Alexander Canario and LHP Jordan Wicks for RHP Shane Bieber and RHP Emmanuel Clase
#3: Help the Padres solve their payroll dilemna and bolster the lineup by trading for infielder Ha-Seong Kim
We talked about this deal as well if the Cubs were to fall out of the running for Chapman. Let’s face it, the Cubs are not really in the running for him to start, especially in this world where they’ve already given $25 million per year to Bellinger so let’s talk about why Kim would be a great addition.
First, he’s an incredible defender. He won the Gold Glove last season as a utility player but the Cubs would use him as their everyday third baseman since they already have a Gold Glove double play combo with Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson. In this scenario the Cubs would have Gold Glove winners everywhere in the infield which is incredibly valuable when you have a groundball focused pitching staff.
Second, he’s in the last year of his deal. He has a player option but at the price that it is it’s unlikely he’d pick it up so his job would essentially be to keep the hot corner warm until Matt Shaw is able to take over in 2025.
In the original trade we discussed sending James Triantos, Chicago's seventh-best prospect, and a top second best prospect in baseball, as well as the aforementioned Alexander Canario. However, since our previous deal already included Canario the Cubs would have to include a different prospect or multiple.
Depending on how deep of financial troubles the Padres are in, they could send a younger higher-risk, higher-ceiling player like Alexis or Cristian Hernandez. Or they could send someone like BJ Murray who was the Cubs' 13th-best prospect that hit for great power in Double-A last season and will likely start the year in Iowa.
WHAT'S THE MOVE? Trade INF James Triantos and INF BJ Murray for INF Ha Seong Kim
If the Cubs were to complete these three deals they wouldn’t be mortgaging the future, thanks to the tremendous depth Jed Hoyer has assembled in recent years at every level of the farm system.
These deals would give the Cubs veteran leadership in the rotation, an anchor at the back of the bullpen, flexibility in the lineup with their young stars and the best defensive lineup that baseball has seen in the last decade, all while staying below the Competitive Balance Tax.