The Chicago Cubs made their first impactful free agency signing of the offseason when they acquired veteran reliever Phil Maton on a two-year deal.
This was a shrewd move for a squad that is losing multiple relievers in free agency this offseason, given that Maton has been solid for the past three seasons and produced a 2.79 ERA with 81 strikeouts and five saves in 61.1 innings in the 2025 campaign.
However, there’s still plenty more work to be done in retooling a bullpen that had a collective 3.78 ERA during the regular season, which put them at No. 11 in MLB.
As it currently stands, the only left-handed relievers on Chicago’s 40-man roster are Jordan Wicks, Riley Martin, and Luke Little, which makes it clear that they’re going to need to sign at least one impact southpaw pitcher in the coming months. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that doing so will be their top priority or the next move they’ll make.