When speaking with MLB Network on December 9, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell got very clear about where his club’s roster needs to improve for the 2026 season.
Counsell was asked how he foresees Chicago’s bullpen shaking out and said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do there. That’s probably the one place where we lost; we had a lot of free agents in that group that we lost. So we’ve got a lot of work to do, replacing and fortifying that group… We need to add more numbers to that area, and we need to add more good arms to that area.”
This sentiment from Counsell doesn’t come as a surprise, given the sheer number of bullpen pieces the team lost to free agency. However, the question is what sort of “good arms” the Cubs would try to sign this winter, and how much of their budget they’d allocate to bringing these arms on board.
This offseason’s free agency reliever class featured several of the sport’s top closers over the past few years. However, two of them (Edwin Diaz and Devin Williams) have already signed with other teams, thus making them unavailable for the Cubs.
Former New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Diaz never seemed to be in play for Chicago because of his expected price tag. Williams, however, seemed to be a great option for the club.
Insider Reveals Devin Williams Preferred Cubs in Free Agency
During a December 10 appearance on 670 The Score, Cubs insider Bruce Levine revealed a telling detail about the Cubs’ pursuit of Devin Williams.
“It’s like, Devin Williams, I reported earlier this morning… [The] Cubs had a three-year offer for Devin Williams before he signed a three-year deal with the Mets for $51 million. But [the Cubs’ offer] wasn’t for $51 million. His preference, according to some agent sources, is that he wanted to go to the Cubs. But they didn’t approach him with $51 million,” Levine said, per an X post from 670 The Score.
MORE: MLB Insider Reveals The Free Agent Pitcher The Cubs Are Linked To “The Most”
The Cubs met with Pete Alonso before he signed with the Orioles.
Also, Devin Williams’ preference, all things equal, was to sign with the Cubs over the Mets, sources told @MLBBruceLevine, but the Cubs’ offer didn’t get to the $51 million that Williams got. pic.twitter.com/oC4au5hJxx
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 10, 2025
The fact that Williams wanted to come to Chicago but the Cubs weren’t willing to approach the Mets’ $51 million offer might be a tough pill for Cubs fans to swallow. Then again, $51 million is a lot to give a guy who just had the worst season of his career, so perhaps Williams ending up with the Mets is for the best.
But Chicago needs to retool their bullpen somehow, and the front office will need to act fast before all the good options have signed elsewhere.
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