Predicting possible Cubs' offseason moves using $100 million that came off the books

After playing 'Deal or No Deal' on the latest episode of the Cubbies Crib podcast, the gears started turning, and I started wondering what the Chicago Cubs could do with, let's call it, $100 million in payroll this offseason.

I quickly found out the answer to that question is 'a lot'.

I couldn't help myself and blew nearly half of it on Tarik Skubal, but then gut-checked myself and remembered the Cubs have never even given out a $200 million deal, so an eight-year, $350 million pact probably isn't in the cards. So here's how Jed Hoyer could re-allocate the $100 million coming off the books as he looks to close the gap on the World Series champion Brewers in the NL Central.

Spreading the wealth in free agency to address multiple areas of need

Cubs re-sign Seiya Suzuki to a four-year, $100 million contract

The market for offense is light, at best. Bringing back Seiya Suzuki adds much-needed depth to the Cubs' lineup and offers protection to Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman. On the heels of the best season of his MLB career (5.1 bWAR, 131 OPS+), Suzuki warrants a healthy long-term deal. A four-year, $100 deal would take him through his age-35 season and be a huge move by the front office.

Michael King gets massive five-year, $150 million deal to anchor rotation

The end-all, be-all of the offseason for the Cubs is pitching. There's no two ways about it. After his dominant Wild Card start against them, Chicago is well aware of what King is capable of and should move quickly to offer him one of the biggest contracts of the winter. Over the last three seasons, he owns a 3.15 ERA across 432 innings. I don't love paying pitchers on the other side of 35, but Hoyer doesn't have much choice if he wants to shop at the top of the market.

Chicago lands Adrian Morejon on three-year, $45 million deal, convert him to starter

Cubs insiders recently poured cold water on the idea of an Adrian Morejon pursuit to anchor the back of the bullpen. But hear me out. What if Hoyer took a different approach with the flamethrowing lefty and brought him in on a three-year with the goal of converting him to a starter? He'd bring the most swing-and-miss we've seen in the Chicago rotation in a decade. I like that idea.

David Peterson realizes he has a good thing, re-signs for three-years, $30 million

Arms, arms, arms. David Peterson turned around his season after coming to the Cubs in a June trade and profiles perfectly as someone who could have sustained success with this defense behind him. A 3.70 ERA with Chicago (that's inflated thanks to two disastrous starts) and strong groundball numbers bode well, especially if you're looking to him to slot in toward the back of the rotation.

Joc Pederson takes a one-year, $7.5 million deal, returning to the Cubs

Regardless of what happens with Suzuki, Joc Pederson is a name to watch this winter for Chicago. He had a cup of coffee with the Cubs in 2021, and showed good power numbers (that came almost entirely against right-handers) with Texas this season, with an OPS north of .800. Given that Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw struggle against righties, he could be a perfect platoon partner and semi-regular DH.

Jonathan Loaisiga signs two-year, $16 million deal to solidify the late innings

Again, I know that the Cubs reportedly feel decent about their mix of relief arms, but I want more firepower in that group. I don't expect them to be in the mix for David Bednar, Raisel Iglesias or Morejon (at least not as a reliever), but someone like Jonathan Loaisiga, who was quietly one of the better bullpen arms in baseball this season (2.42 ERA w/ elite metrics) could completely change the feel of this group.

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