Chicago Cubs to be heavily involved in 2014 free agency
The Chicago Cubs goal is to compete for the NL Central title in 2015 and end their string of last place finished in the division, but if they are going to successful in reaching their goal, they will have to upgrade the roster in free agency, and they plan to do so.
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Cubs president of baseball operations met with the media on Tuesday as he outlined his plans for the offseason and beyond for the organization, but in order to be competitive in 2015 the Cubs have to upgrade a pitching rotation that has Jake Arietta and a bunch of No. 4s and No. 5s.
With the trade of Jeff Samardzija to the Oakland A’s the Cubs find themselves in a position where they need to pay for impact arms to complement the rest of the staff that should include Kyle Hendricks and Travis Wood, but they need a true ace to bolster this rotation to truly compete for a playoff spot.
Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields are all scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season and represent the type of impact arms the Cubs desperately need, but will the Cubs pursue any or all of them?
“We’re going to be very involved,” Epstein said. “We will add talent from outside the organization. I hope we add impact talent, but it has to make sense. We can’t completely sell out for 2015. It’s starting to be the right time to add impact talent.
Reading between the lines, the Cubs will attempt to sign one of these arms — if it makes financial sense — and they will look to the 2015 free agent class that includes David Price, Jordan Zimmermann and Jeff Samardzija, among others to add to a rotation they hope will include one of the big three in the 2014 class mentioned above.
Don’t rule out a reunion with Samardzija in Chicago as the former Cubs ace has been open about a return to the North Side.
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