3 Chicago Cubs who won't be back after the MLB Winter Meetings and why

The Chicago Cubs are going to make some serious changes this offseason. And they desperately need to.

Chicago brought in Craig Counsell to be its manager last offseason, paying him double what he was making with the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago brought Counsell over because they wanted to win, but they didn't win nearly enough in 2024.

This offseason, the Cubs are going to face some serious roster shakeups. They've already let a few players go and there could be more on the way. Not to mention the fact that some of the team's players could be traded before the offseason is over.

Which Cubs are the most likely to be off the roster by the end of MLB's Winter Meetings?

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3. OF Brennen Davis

The most obvious person on this list is a former top prospect. For a while, I saw this prospect as a key trade candidate while the Cubs were looking to upgrade last season. I mocked him heading out of Chicago in a few deals, but ultimately, the Cubs held onto him. That could be their own decision or it could be because other teams weren't very interested in him.

It's the former top prospect Brennen Davis, who's now slid down the Cubs top prospect rankings before being DFA'd earlier this offseason. One way or another, Davis won't be in the Cubs organization by the end of the year.

Davis, 25, never really panned out. He began his professional career off well, but after a few years, he began to fall off a cliff. In 2022, he slashed .180/.299/.298 split between three minor league levels. He slightly improved in 2023 when he posted a slash line of .201/.297/.307. Finally, last season, he began drawing more walks and slugging much higher. His 2024 slash line was .220/.369/.451 with an OPS well over .800.

Still, the Cubs DFA'd him and though he isn't completely done in Chicago just yet, that day is slowly approaching the 25-year-old prospect.

2. 2B Nico Hoerner

The Cubs have been linked to some serious roster shake-up this offseason. One of the moves the Cubs may decide to make is trading Nico Hoerner. Let's dive into that.

Last season, Hoener slashed .273/.335/.373 while posting his fourth straight season with an OPS+ of 100 or higher. He's been a solid bat for Chicago for as long as he's been with the team. So what are the flaws?

Hoerner doesn't slug for extra bases and he doesn't draw walks. Considering the fact he hit .273, it would be reasonable to assume his OPS would be around .750, but instead, his OPS was right around .700.

And Hoerner takes the spot at second base, blocking the Cubs top prospect from coming to the big leagues. Matt Shaw is the Cubs top prospect and he's big-league-ready. Last season, Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 split between Double-A and Triple-A. While in Triple-A for just under 40 games, Shaw slashed an incredible .298/.395/.534.

It's hard to imagine that somebody with his raw talent and results will stick in the minor leagues for long. He's a huge piece of Chicago's future and there's not going to be any holding him back in the minor leagues.

1. OF/1B Cody Bellinger

The reports that the Cubs will try to trade their outfielder Cody Bellinger have been coming in ever since he surprisingly accepted his player option at the beginning of the offseason. And these rumors and reports haven't slowed down a bit. In fact, they're just heating up, as MLB insider Ken Rosenthal revealed the Cubs are still actively trying to trade Bellinger.

"While rival executives say the Chicago Cubs want to trade first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, they also note the difficulty the team likely will face pulling off such a move," Rosenthal wrote.

For Chicago, it's the contract that kills them. Having to pay Bellinger right around $30 million for the next year or two is quite crippling to the pursuit of any big-name free agent like Corbin Burnes or Pete Alonso.

They should be able to pull off a trade, but it may look more like a salary dump than trading somebody who was an MVP candidate in 2023. A team like the New York Yankees or New York Mets makes sense as a landing destination, depending on where Juan Soto lands. The Cubs may be willing to eat half of his contract in order to move him, but I don't think they would eat much more than that because it would defeat the purpose of dumping his salary.