{"id":519483,"date":"2026-01-14T06:14:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T06:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/519483\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T06:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T06:14:26","slug":"are-the-chicago-cubs-done-adding-this-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/519483\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the Chicago Cubs Done Adding This Offseason?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After landing free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman on a five-year, $175 million contract<\/a>, everyone wants to know what\u2019s next for the Chicago Cubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Does the infield logjam create room to trade Nico Hoerner<\/a> and address other needs? Is there another middle-of-the-order bat coming? Are the Cubs still lurking on the fringes of the Bo Bichette or Kyle Tucker markets?<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s no shortage of speculation, and plenty of Cubs fans feel the front office still has work to do. Adding Bregman was a major move<\/a> \u2014 but was it enough?<\/p>\n

I won’t pretend to know what happens next behind closed doors. But when I look at this roster, I come away with a pretty clear conclusion: the Cubs are done adding this offseason.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve executed their plan, filled their needs, and built a team that looks ready to go on Opening Day.<\/p>\n

Position player in place<\/p>\n

The starting lineup is set. Bregman joins Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, and Michael Busch as starting infielders. Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki have the outfield locked down. And Moises Ballasteros is set to be the regular DH.<\/p>\n

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Miguel Amaya will be on the roster and should handle a meaningful share of the catching duties. Matt Shaw gives Craig Counsell a versatile infield option off the bench, capable of filling multiple roles and providing insurance across the diamond.<\/p>\n

Tyler Austin returning from Japan<\/a> on an MLB deal is a quietly smart move. I liked it at the time<\/a>, and I like it even more now. He gives the Cubs a right-handed power bat who can either anchor the bench or platoon with Busch at first base.<\/p>\n

The final bench spot will go to an outfielder. Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara makes the most sense as the only other outfielder currently on the 40-man roster, but that could just as easily be a veteran signed to a minor-league deal who earns a spot in spring training. Either way, it won’t be a major addition.<\/p>\n

A full rotation and a finished bullpen<\/p>\n

The pitching staff<\/a> is just as settled.<\/p>\n

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When healthy, the Cubs can roll out Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and Jameson Taillon. That\u2019s six legitimate big-league starters, giving Counsell flexibility and protection against injuries or workload limits.<\/p>\n

Even without Steele<\/a> ready to go for Opening Day, the Cubs should have a clean starting five<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Colin Rea and Javier Assad slide into long-relief roles, strengthening the bridge between the rotation and the late innings. From there, the bullpen fills out with Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, and Daniel Palencia anchoring the back end.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a bullpen with open seats. That\u2019s a bullpen that\u2019s been built deliberately through free agency this winter.<\/p>\n

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Why the Cubs are likely finished<\/p>\n

Simply, this is a full roster. A full pitching staff. A complete lineup.<\/p>\n

So while I understand the temptation to keep looking for the next move \u2014 especially with spring training still weeks away \u2014 the reality is that the Cubs don\u2019t have any holes left to fill.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve addressed nearly every need. They\u2019ve balanced their roster. And they\u2019ve built a team that can legitimately compete for an NL Central title or pennant.<\/p>\n

If something unexpected pops up during the season, the trade deadline is always there. But as things stand, this is the team they set out to build.<\/p>\n

And honestly, who could ask for much more than that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After landing free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman on a five-year, $175 million contract, everyone wants to know what\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2399],"tags":[72,5,88,735,7581,138,24,4245,158,576,161,888,733,4914,12525,4156,36,442,5173,159,393,29,716,2000,37,728,4,33,35,4397,105,770,7115],"class_list":{"0":"post-519483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-alex-bregman","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-bo-bichette","11":"tag-cade-horton","12":"tag-caleb-thielbar","13":"tag-chicago","14":"tag-chicago-cubs","15":"tag-chicagocubs","16":"tag-colin-rea","17":"tag-craig-counsell","18":"tag-cubs","19":"tag-daniel-palencia","20":"tag-dansby-swanson","21":"tag-edward-cabrera","22":"tag-hoby-milner","23":"tag-hunter-harvey","24":"tag-ian-happ","25":"tag-jacob-webb","26":"tag-jameson-taillon","27":"tag-javier-assad","28":"tag-justin-steele","29":"tag-kyle-tucker","30":"tag-matt-shaw","31":"tag-matthew-boyd","32":"tag-michael-busch","33":"tag-miguel-amaya","34":"tag-mlb","35":"tag-nico-hoerner","36":"tag-pete-crow-armstrong","37":"tag-phil-maton","38":"tag-seiya-suzuki","39":"tag-shota-imanaga","40":"tag-tyler-austin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115891986303178038","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}