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3 positions the Chicago Cubs need to significantly upgrade soon
The Chicago Cubs have several positions that need to be upgraded as soon as possible.
The Chicago Cubs are going through an extremely frustrating stretch of baseball right now, where their lack of high-end talent has been more apparent than ever. If the team is truly serious about competing and making the playoffs, they need to start targeting high-end players to carry their current roster.
Whether it be through trades at the deadline this year or free agent signing this upcoming offseason, these are three positions the Cubs need to upgrade in the near future.
1. Closer
Going into the 2024 season, it was assumed that Adbert Alzolay would resume his role as the closer. After Alzolay converted 22 saves in 25 opportunities with a 2.67 ERA last year, it was a no-brainer to keep him where he was given how comfortable he looked in the ninth inning. But as the 2024 season, it was clear Alzolay didn't have the same magic as before.
By the beginning of May, the 29-year-old already matched his blown saves and home runs allowed marks from 2023, which were 3 and 5 respectively. What may have contributed to this poor performance was an underlying forearm issue that sent Alzolay to the injured list on May 13th. After getting a second opinion, Alzolay was shut down from all throwing activity, and aside from being transferred to the 60-day IL on June 2nd, there hasn't been an update on his status.
What made matters worse was Julian Merryweather also hit the injured list at the beginning of April, followed soon after by Yency Almonte. These injuries have contributed to the Cubs are second-worst in blown saves this year with 17. This lack of ability in the ninth inning has been a serious issue for the Cubs. If just half of those save opportunities were converted, Chicago would have the same amount of wins as the Milwaukee Brewers at the time of this writing.
The Cubs can only assume that Alzolay will be out for the rest of the season. And given his injury history, Alzolay cannot be relied on to be the closer in 2025. Merryweather is a similar story, with 2023 being the only year where he played a full season in Major League Baseball. This means the Cubs either need to sign a closer in free agency or trade for one because there isn't a clear answer waiting to get called up in the minor leagues.
Miami Marlins closer Tanner Scott is the most logical name for Chicago. He is the youngest (29) and hardest-throwing relief pitcher with closing experience hitting free agency this winter. The southpaw averages 96.6 mph on his four-seam fastball and he is currently sporting a 1.64 ERA with nine saves on the year. While other closers have many more saves than Scott, that's mostly because Miami has not given him many chances to convert saves with their 27-50 record this year. If the Cubs are serious about contending, signing Scott would make a whole lot of sense.
Other closers hitting the market that could fill the need include Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates and Clay Holmes.
2. Catcher
The Cubs recently cleaned out their catcher's room when they designated Yan Gomes for assignment on June 19. It was a tough decision given Gomes' leadership qualities and decade-plus of experience. But the team recognized that the catching position has been dreadfully bad for them this year and they needed a change.
Tomas Nido, who was recently designated for assignment himself by the New York Mets, was brought in to catch alongside Miguel Amaya. But Nido is not the long-term answer and he will be a free agent at the end of the year so the Cubs need to consider other options given Amaya and Gomes' performance so far.
At the plate, the Cubs currently have the second-worst wRC+ (40), OPS (.492) and batting average (.180) in the league from the catching position this year. Behind the plate, Gomes and Amaya are also near the bottom in pitch-framing metrics as well as throwing out base-stealers. Runners have attempted to steal 44 times on Gomes and Amaya this year, and they have thrown out just three of them combined.
There are not a lot of high-end catchers hitting free agency this year, but there aren't really many elite catchers in the league to begin with. Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly would figure to be an upgrade on defense but wouldn't help much more at the plate than Gomes did. Danny Jansen from Toronto is another option in a similar bucket as Kelly as both will be approaching 30 years old at free agency.
A trade would likely bear more preferable results, with Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers a great option. The 26-year-old is a great power hitter - with 36 home runs in 2023-24 combined - who can also keep runners more humble on the base paths than the Cubs' current backstops. Langeliers is under team control through the 2028 season though so he will cost a decent prospect haul in return.
3. Power Hitter
Okay, this isn't really a position per se as it is more like a department. A department the Cubs need to fix as soon as possible to help boost their offense. Driving in runs has been an absolute chore for the team's lineup this year and they rank 3rd to last in batting average with runners in scoring position this year (.216). As of June 24, only the Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics are worse in that category.
The Cubs will be shedding nearly $50 million in payroll this coming offseason with the contracts for Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Yan Gomes, Trey Mancini, David Bote and Tucker Barnhart all set to expire. This money combined with the fact that the team is currently putting a salary cap upon itself means they should have plenty of financial room to work with in the winter. An elite hitter who can drive in runs must be at the top of the list with the severe offensive struggles perennially plaguing the team.
New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto should be at the top of the list given his generational prowess as a hitter. A guy who can slug, take walks, hit for contact and drive in runs like Soto can would instantly transform the Cubs' lineup. If they aren't willing to pay the price, which will likely be one of the largest contracts in MLB history, Teoscar Hernandez, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman are other candidates that the team can afford to pay.
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