‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the ‘Ville,
We pondered how the Cubs’ roster be filled
Between trades, signings, and Japanese postings
And last minute visits the Cubs might be hosting.
Last month, the Mariners re-signed Josh Naylor,
Jays got Cease and Rogers (Tyler, not Taylor).
O’s got Big Pete and made quite a few trades
And even some signings by the Tampa Bay Rays!
The Yankees gave one-year deals to some folks
Because Hal Steinbrenner cried he was broke.
White Sox Murakami, Royals trying again!
Detroit got Kenley, and Kyle Finnegan!
The Mets got Semien and traded away Nimmo,
Atlanta signed relievers for another go.
The Twins for some reason signed up Josh Bell…
And the Marlins brought in old friend Chris Morel!
Phillies re-signed Schwarber and brought in Brad Keller,
Cards traded bulk to Boston on their way to the cellar.
The NL West signed up pitching in spades…
Even the Pirates made a bunch of cool trades!
Which brings us to the Cubs, who’ve been mostly quiet…
Though some bullpen signings occurred, can’t deny it.
Still plenty of room under the luxury tax,
They definitely should spend, and those are the facts.
Up at Gallagher Way, the lights shining bright
As the front office worked far into the night
Jed Hoyer and crew consider both old and new-ish
Working on Christmas Eve? It’s OK, ’cause Jed’s Jewish.
If they look into Japan, would they sign Imai?
Or perhaps they’ll add Okamoto to the fray?
What of Framber, or even Zac Gallen?
Or will they do trades (Gore? Joe Ryan?)
No one knows what’s up with Bo Bichette or Bregman
As Scott Boras spews his dad jokes and bad puns
The Cubs know they need more pitching and bats
But they can’t just pull a name out of a hat.
Might not be Tucker, and probably not Belli,
But hopefully someone who can hit dingers aplenty.
Alex Bregman still seems to be the best play,
Then maybe trade Matt Shaw for a new ace.
The lineup is solid if they can replace Kyle’s bat,
The rotation needs at least one more stud, stat.
The bullpen, as always, cost-effective but great?
The bench needs a utility guy, then they’d be in good shape.
Now Porter! Now Maton! Now Milner! Now Webb!
On, Danny! On, Ben Brown! On Colin, and Caleb!
Get Craig those out-getters, manage that contact,
Maximize the funk and miss the fat of the bat.=
With months to go until Cactus League play,
The plan the Cubs laid out hasn’t much changed.
Get that star bat (most likely third base),
Shore up the bullpen, and get that new ace.
Jed has some decisions with CBA looming
He might get taxed, but salaries are expiring.
Here’s to some sweet additions to this great core
Postseason bound next season, and here’s to much more!