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The Minnesota Twins signed right-handed pitcher Josh Staumont to a one-year deal on Wednesday and while the Chicago Cubs were not in the market for Staumont, the signing does expose a harsh truth about how inactive the Cubs have been this off-season.
With the Twins signing of Staumont, the Cubs are now the only team in Major League Baseball to have not added a player to their Major League roster this off-season.
24 teams have added a big league free agent this offseason.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) December 27, 2023
5 other teams have added a big leaguer via trade.
The one remaining team that has done neither? The Chicago Cubs https://t.co/GM3PieIfGf
That is strange company for the Cubs to be in. Even since 2018, when the Cubs have been frugal with their off-season spending, the team has almost always made at least one addition to their Major League roster before the calendar turned over.
A few days remain until 2024 but it will seem that the Cubs will have gone the first two months of the off-season without making an addition to their 26-man roster.
There is no doubt that it has been a strange off-season. The free agent process for both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto undoubtedly slowed the overall pace of the market but teams have begun their pivot. For the Cubs to remain on the sideline when they are a worse team today than they were at the end of the 2023 season is a risk that Jed Hoyer appears comfortable with.
It's still not time to panic for the Cubs. The Cubs have a need for two impact bats and, at least, one starting pitcher, and a path remains for the team to address those needs. However, Cody Bellinger appears to be the next major free agent domino to fall with the Cubs still in the mix. If the Cubs lose out on Bellinger, then the panic button will need to be pressed.