4 painful contracts the Chicago Cubs can't dump soon enough

2. Drew Smyly: $10.5 million

Southpaw Drew Smyly was also the victim of a sudden injury to his hip resulting in a trip to the 15-day IL this week. This roster move coincidentally came at a time when Smyly was struggling with a 4.97 ERA in his nine appearances out of the bullpen. He was replaced by Hayden Wesneski, who has been sharp in his small sample size in 2024. Starting the year with the Iowa Cubs, Wesneski had a 2.53 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 10.2 innings pitched. When he was initially called up last week, the 26-year-old kept the momentum going and dazzled in a four-inning relief appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And that's kind of the rub with Smyly. The Cubs organization has better options like Wesneski, who is younger and has a much higher ceiling. With Cubs' starters struggling to go deep into games right now, Justin Steele still on the injured list, and the bullpen getting taxed heavily, the team can't afford to have Smyly giving up so many runs in relief. Like Hendricks, Smyly just doesn't have the stuff, the velocity, or the results to warrant the paycheck he's getting. I think it's safe to say that Smyly won't be back after his contract expires this year.

3. Trey Mancini: $7 million

Unfortunately, the Cubs gave first baseman Trey Mancini a two-year deal when they signed him prior to 2023. The hitting struggles he sustained with the team were appalling, and he found himself out of a job by August because of them. That still leaves the Cubs on the hook for $7 million in 2023, which is money that could've gone toward upgrading the bullpen this offseason. I have nothing against the guy, he just simply didn't perform and it's still costing the team a decently sized contract.

After getting designated for assignment last summer, he signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds on August 30 but was released just a week later. He signed a similar deal with the Miami Marlins in January, but he opted out prior to the start of the season and he is still a free agent.

4. Tucker Barnhart: $3.25 million

Tucker Barnhart served as the Cubs' backup catcher last year and was acceptable in that role. The main culprit in Barnhart's downfall with the Cubs was the emergence of rookie Miguel Amaya, who after spending a few years banged up, finally made the major league roster and claimed the backup role behind Yan Gomes.

Barnhart is not a bad catcher and he is honestly a pretty good pitch framer. But his age and inability to hit were the main downsides to his game. Nobody was really expecting Barnhart to hit that well given his track record in the majors, but it didn't help his cause that he put up arguably the worst offensive numbers of his career in 2023 with a wRC+ of 53 and a .202/.285/.227 slash line. Like Mancini, Barnhart's deal will be off the books at the end of 2024, giving the team just a bit more financial flexibility for 2025's roster.