The 2025 offseason is almost upon us, one that will be largely defined by one name: star outfielder Kyle Tucker, not a Juan Soto-level megastar but still far and away the best player available on the market this winter. Speculation has run rampant in recent weeks about just where Tucker will wind up and for how much. But that speculation has seemingly all but ruled out the last team Tucker played for, the Chicago Cubs.
Despite acquiring Tucker from the Houston Astros last winter knowing he was entering his walk year, and despite being the Chicago Cubs, it appears that president Jed Hoyer and/or owner Tom Ricketts still aren't willing to deviate from their usual blueprint (or, less charitably, their usual budget). That has, naturally, led to much gnashing of teeth on the North Side, as a team with legitimate World Series aspirations feels hamstrung by little more than its own lack of ambition.
To be clear: There's no good reason the Cubs shouldn't make every effort to bring Tucker back. If that's not the world we live in, though, maybe we can at least find a silver lining. Letting Tucker walk means that $40-45 million per year or so now gets freed up for use elsewhere. And there are still plenty of big moves for Chicago to make to try and overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL.
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Extend Pete Crow-Armstrong
If the Cubs aren't going to pay up to keep their star right fielder around, they can at least reroute some of that money to make sure they keep their star center fielder around for the long haul.
Yes, Crow-Armstrong fell back to Earth down the stretch of the 2025 season after a scorching-hot start, and yes there are still red flags in his game — most especially his swing-happy plate approach that pitches were all too eager to exploit. But despite a miserable second half, he still hit 31 homers and swiped 35 bags, finishing with a .768 OPS for the season. The power is very real, and he's still just 23 years old with plenty of time to grow.
And even if he doesn't — even if he remains a tantalizing yet exasperating hitter who struggles to get on base but has enough pop to remain at or above league average — his defense in center field is so spectacular that he'll still be a star-level player. That sort of floor, combined with his offensive upside, is well worth investing in as soon as possible.
As for what it would cost to do so? That's where things get tricky. We know he already shot down a $75 million offer from Chicago in the middle of this season, so set that as the floor. Jackson Merrill was two years younger but similarly valuable when he signed an extension with the San Diego Padres guarantee him just over $134 million over eight years. Would PCA be willing to forgo three years of free agency? Would the Cubs want ot guarantee so much money for just three additional years of team control? If not, maybe a longer deal could be in the works, say 11 years for $180 million or so. That's a hefty price tag, but Crow-Armstrong's defensive value and athleticism make his floor awfully high, and his upside is obvious — upside that could make that number seem like a bargain if he puts it all together in 2026.
Shop at the top of the starting pitching market
This has quite simply never been Jed Hoyer's M.O. Chicago has only handed out two nine-figure contracts to pitchers in franchise history, one to Yu Darvish and the other to Jon Lester. Both came while Theo Epstein was running the Cubs' front office, with Hoyer as his general manager.
Since Hoyer took over the head job, though, he's been seemingly unwilling to wade into the deep end of the pitching pool. That needs to change this offseason: Chicago is in desperate need of rotation help, with question marks around both Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele moving forward, and if they're not paying Tucker, they'll have the money to make a real splash at a position of need.
Will that be a run at signing Dylan Cease? Maybe. What about a trade for someone like Pablo Lopez (owed a total of $43 million over the next two years) or Sandy Alcantara ($17.3 million next year with a $21 million club option for 2027)? Every option should be on the table, considering the money and the prospects Hoyer has at his disposal this offseason.
Acquire (and pay) Adley Rutschman
The Cubs have the luxury of being just about locked in at every position on the diamond — except, that is, for catcher, where Carson Kelly started off strong before disappearing down the stretch this season. It's a spot crying out for an upgrade this offseason, and while the free-agent market is thin on impact names (outside a declining JT Realmuto), the trade market features one heck of a buy-low opportunity in Rutschman.
OK, so "low" figures to still be pretty steep in this case; Rutschman is under team control for two more years, and the Baltimore Orioles don't figure to be overly eager to dump him for pennies on the dollar. Still, the two-time All-Star will likely never be cheaper to acquire and to extend than he is this winter, and it seems like Baltimore is at least open to moving on if the price is right.
Rutschman is coming off of two straight down years at the plate, but it's worth noting that those down years are still pretty good by catching standards. It's also worth noting that he's been dogged by injuries. When healthy, we know that he's a game-changing player, a switch hitter with 20-homer pop and elite on-base skills who also happens to be an excellent defender behind the plate. It's worth betting on him getting back to being that guy in his age-28 season, and a vintage Rutschman season would really take this lineup to a new level.
Give the bullpen a facelift
The starting rotation isn't the only part of this pitching staff that needs some work. The Cubs patched things together in the bullpen in 2025, and now they're set to lose success stories like Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar and Ryan Brasier to free agency. It's time for a more meaningful investment, and letting Tucker walk should allow them to sign at least one but likely two of names like Raisel Iglesias, Luke Weaver, Emilio Pagan, Michael Kopech and Danny Coulombe.
Again, this will require Hoyer to go against type a bit. He typically prefers to shop in the bargain bin while building a relief staff. This team's expectations are too high now, though, and if he's not going to pay up to keep Tucker around, he's going to need to build a more balanced roster without him. That needs to include a more reliable bullpen formula for Craig Counsell to work with than what he's had over the last couple of years.