Let’s look forward.
It has been my routine this offseason to post an article here at 9 a.m. CT on weekdays to generate discussion on a topic.
Sometimes it’s a free agent or trade possibility, sometimes baseball or Cubs news.
Today I want to step back and look at where the Cubs are, and where they could be going, and then ask you where you’d take the team from here.
First, a couple of bits of news. The Cubs sent Michael Arias to the Yankees Wednesday for cash considerations. This is fine. Arias has talent, but his walk rates were frighteningly high and even though he pitched at both Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa in 2024, there was apparently no thought to giving him a callup. Maybe the Yankees will fix that, maybe they won’t.
We still don’t have a complete list of Cubs international signings from yesterday. Maybe this is part of the reason:
According to sources, both the Dodgers and Padres have been calling teams with regard to trading for international bonus pool money with the hopes of bulking up the amount they can offer Roki Sasaki. @ByJackHarris was first to report the Dodgers’ interest in adding to their pool.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 16, 2025
Could it be that the Cubs were approached to trade some of their international bonus money? As always, we await developments.
Really, the reason I am posting this article is this. Every time I write something about the team’s future, the discussion generally devolves into some form of “the Cubs need to spend like a big-market team” or “Jed Hoyer doesn’t know what he’s doing” or things along those lines. Now, don’t take this the wrong way — the discussion has generally been civil, with reasonable points made.
Now I want to ask you this: If you were the owner or POBO of the Chicago Cubs, what would you do to improve this team as it stands right now? Let me be clear, I’m not interested in pie-in-the-sky things like “sign all the free agents” or “they should have signed Juan Soto.”
What would you do right here, right now, with the 40-man roster, payroll and minor-league system as they stand today?
I’m not going to weigh in myself, except maybe in the comments. I want to hear from you.
So, have at it. No poll today — this is all about you putting together a thoughtful plan for the Chicago Cubs.