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Understanding why the Cubs will contend in 2024 - 2024 MLB free agency
As mentioned earlier, the spending will continue with the Cubs getting closer to a serious competitive run. They will still have enough flexibility to pick up another bat or pitcher if they pull off an extension of Stroman. It is a matter of having the money to spend, but also, who they could spend it on. As it happens, quite a few players will be there for the Cubs to fortify the team further. Looking at the 2024 free agents, the class is loaded, particularly with pitchers this coming winter:
- Shohei Ohtani
- Max Scherzer (Player option)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Julio Urias
- Clayton Kershaw
- Hyun-Jin Ryu
- Martin Perez
- Lance Lynn (Club option)
- Aaron Nola
- Lucas Giolito
- Jordan Montgomery
- Blake Snell
- Sonny Gray
These are some of the names that stick out the most in next winter's upcoming free agency class regarding starting pitching. Whether or not all of these names will still be available at that point remains to be seen, but regardless, the Cubs should have no reason why they can't add another towards-the-front-end of the rotation type of starter this winter. As for bats, let's take a look at the most notable from the list here:
- Joc Pederson
- Michael Conforto (Player option)
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Matt Chapman
- Hunter Renfroe
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- J.D. Martinez
- Josh Bell (Player option)
- CJ Cron
We can more than likely rule out any outfielder or first baseman, such as Bell or Cron. That leaves Matt Chapman on the list, which only makes sense if the Cubs decide to permanently remove Patrick Wisdom from 3B and shift him to platoon at first base with what we hope will be Matt Mervis or have him DH altogether. With Happ and Suzuki locked up patrolling the corner outfield spots, it will be hard for the Cubs to sign an outfielder to whom they can only guarantee everyday playing time if the front office plans never to have one of their top outfield prospects play every day.
Nevertheless, it's an excellent problem for the Cubs to have. If you're in the front office, it makes more sense to trade for a bat that fills your most significant position of need while signing a free-agent pitcher to man the front of the rotation. They have every possibility to build a super team moving forward.