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3 moves Cubs should make for all-in offseason after signing Cody Bellinger

By Cody Williams

Oct 5, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 5, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cubs Cody Bellinger
Carlos Rodon. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cubs showed the first signs of an all-in offseason signing Cody Bellinger, but what moves should Chicago now be rushing to make to keep rolling?

Before the postseason even arrived, there were murmurs throughout baseball that the Chicago Cubs could be one of the most aggressive teams in free agency in the 2022-23 offseason. With a strong financial position after essentially bottoming out this past season, they were in a spot to be aggressive and go all-in on splashy moves.

On Tuesday as the MLB Winter Meetings rolled on, they made the first move of that ilk. The Cubs agreed to a one-year contract with former NL MVP Cody Bellinger on a deal that will pay him $17.5 million for the 2023 season. Bellinger has struggled a bit at the plate in the past couple of seasons, but the hope is that he can recapture something close to his MVP form.

More importantly, though, the Cubs shouldn’t stop there. If Chicago wants to be all-in on this offseason, Bellinger should be just the first domino to fall. And here are three more moves the club should make to aggressively upgrade the roster for 2023.

Cubs rumors: 3 all-in moves Chicago should make after landing Cody Bellinger

3. Cubs need to get their ace by signing Carlos Rodon

It was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of what the Cubs got from their starting pitching in the 2022 season. Guys like Justin Steele offered a bright spot — especially toward the end of the season — and the hope is that someone like Marcus Stroman can be more reliable moving forward. There are also some depth options among veterans with some questions like Kyle Hendricks (health) and Adrian Sampson (workload).

Regardless of how the players projected to be on the roster shake out, though, the one thing that Chicago’s rotation is clearly lacking is an ace. There is no one in that group (or at least yet in the case of Steele) who the team can feel wholly confident they are going to win behind whenever they take the mound.

That’s why someone like Carlos Rodon would make a ton of sense. Not only is he quite familiar with the city after spending his career won the Southside with the White Sox prior to this past season with the Giants, but he’s been one of the most underrated pitchers in the sport over the past few years as well.

The southpaw is the best pitcher left in free agency with deGrom and Verlander now off the board with monster deals, which means the Cubs would face hefty competition to sign Rodon should they go after him. But if the front office is serious about going all-in, landing the lefty would be a good way to show that.

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