Ivy League Cubs

By: Jacob Zanolla

The offseason is finally underway, with teams and players making their decisions on offers before free agency begins on Tuesday. Now that Cody Bellinger has chosen to exercise his player option and remain in Chicago another year, the roster crunch gets a lot more difficult for Jed Hoyer. This year, the Cubs have 14 arbitration eligible players. They now have a few weeks to decide who to keep and who to release into free agency.

All arbitration estimations are courtesy of Matt Swartz at MLB Trade Rumors.

Group A: No decision needed

Justin Steele ($6.4M), Isaac Paredes ($6.9M), Keegan Thompson ($1M)

These three players will be given contracts, there isn’t much to debate here. Steele is one of the best pitchers on this roster. Paredes could possibly be moved this winter, although unlikely, but either way he is worth tendering without a doubt. Thompson has really good stuff, and is only going to earn around $1 Million.

Group B: Most likely, but not certain

Mike Tauchman ($2.9M), Nate Pearson ($1.4M)

Mike Tauchman may be the most interesting player in this whole list. He’s really valuable, but I’m not sure the Cubs have much room for him. Not only do they have four outfielders on the roster as of now (Happ, Crow-Armstrong, Bellinger, Suzuki), but Alcantara and Caissie are practically ready to be promoted from Iowa as well. Tauchman is the perfect fourth outfielder, or even a starter on some teams. Knowing that a bench player can give you a quality at bat almost every appearance is extremely valuable. One option, that I would prefer, is to tender Tauchman’s contract and then trade him. Getting something in return for him is better than letting him walk for nothing.

Nate Pearson was a top prospect a few years ago, coming up with the Blue Jays as a starting pitcher. He has since moved into the bullpen, and was acquired by Chicago in July. Even though he had a somewhat rough year in 2024, I would be shocked if the Cubs didn’t keep him around for next season.

Very questionable

Patrick Wisdom ($3M), Yency Almonte ($2.2M)

Wisdom is on the Cubs roster to hit home runs. Normally this meant replacing Michael Busch in a late-game situation. Wisdom had a 75 wRC+ in 75 games, with 8 home runs and 23 runs batted in. It’s clear the Cubs didn’t value him as highly as expected, especially after Busch started to produce as well as he did. Therefore, I’d lean towards Wisdom getting non-tendered. Almonte missed the second half of the season due to shoulder surgery, and will most likely be out until the All-Star break in 2025. His salary isn’t really the problem, but there isn’t a reason to pay someone to rehab. If anything, they can try to re-sign him to a minor league deal after non-tendering him.

See ya later

Christian Bethancourt ($2.5M), Julian Merryweather ($1.3M), Nick Madrigal ($1.9M), Adbert Alzolay ($2.3M), Trey Wingenter ($1.4M), Jimmy Herget ($900K), Colten Brewer ($800K)

Christian Bethancourt had some really impressive moments with the Cubs, but there isn’t room for him on the roster going into next season. The Cubs front office has made it clear that they look to upgrade the catching position, which means Miguel Amaya will probably be the backup for next season. Bethancourt would then become the third-string catcher, which makes no sense for either side.

Julian Merryweather is simply hurt too much, only appearing in more than 30 innings once in the last five seasons. He was decent in 2023, but didn’t put up enticing numbers in any form during his short stint with the Cubs this year.

Nick Madrigal is someone that probably should have been gone sooner, but I have to think his connection to the Craig Kimbrel trade meant the front office gave him a longer leash. Whether that is the case or not, he has appeared in his last game as a Chicago Cub. He came over from the White Sox as a top prospect, and has done practically nothing since arriving at Wrigley. Once a top prospect with elite contact potential, Madrigal finished his 2024 campaign with a .221 average and 57 wRC+.

Adbert Alzolay was one of the best closers in baseball last year before falling off a cliff to begin the 2024 season. He threw 17 1/3 innings, allowing nine earned runs. Six of those nine were thanks to home runs, something he really struggled with this season. To help show how bad it was, he only gave up five home runs in 64 innings last year. That means that in almost a fourth of the time, he gave up a greater amount of home runs. Similar to Almonte, I’d be comfortable giving him a minor league deal while he is rehabbing.

Trey Wingenter, Jimmy Herget, and Colten Brewer are all in the same boat for me. Not only are they not good enough to keep, but they don’t have a place on this team. Wingenter and Brewer combined for 26 2/3 innings this year, while Herget didn’t even appear in a major league game. Claimed from the Braves in mid September, he ended up staying in Iowa until the season ended.

Overall, most of these decisions seem rather easy. If things go exactly as I have described, that gives Hoyer an extra $16.3 Million to spend in free agency, or use in the trade market. The money may not go towards someone like Juan Soto (sadly), but knowing Hoyer, he can find smart ways to use it.

Drew Smyly’s option was also declined, giving the team another $7.5 Million to spend after his buyout.

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