4 Chicago Cubs free agents who won't be back in 2025 and why

When the Chicago Cubs signed Craig Counsell away from the Milwaukee Brewers this past offseason and brought in players like Shota Imanaga, Michael Busch, and Hector Neris while also re-signing Cody Bellinger, they expected to improve from their 83-79 record in 2023 and make it to the postseason for the first time in a full season (excluding 2020) since 2018.

Well, the Cubs might win more than 83 games, but their postseason hopes are all but dead. They're currently 6.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL with 11 games to go as of this writing, and are just one loss (or Brewers win) away from Counsell's old team winning yet another division title.

Even if Pat Murphy, Counsell's replacement, proved to be a good manager, the Brewers were still destined to fall apart in 2024 thanks to Brandon Woodruff's injury and the Corbin Burnes trade. Instead, somehow, the Cubs will almost certainly be watching the Brewers as NL Central champions playing in the postseason while they're on their couches.

It isn't all Counsell's fault, but he clearly did not elevate the Cubs as much as the organization expected.

With how poorly this season unfolded for Chicago, changes will need to be made this offseason. Counsell will remain the team's manager, but they can't run back a roster that was not good enough to get to the postseason in 2024. With that in mind, it's easy to predict that these four players will not be back in 2025.

Kyle Hendricks' illustrious Cubs tenure will come to an end

Kyle Hendricks means a lot to Cubs fans. He's the last remaining member of the 2016 team still with the organization. He deserves all of the praise he can possibly get, but let's be honest. He has to be done in Chicago.

In a season that the Cubs could've really used vintage Hendricks, the right-hander showed that he has very little left in the tank, posting a 6.25 ERA in 27 appearances (22 starts) and 118 innings of work. He pitched well in his five relief appearances, but his 6.68 ERA as a starter has obviously been troublesome for the Cubs and shows that he cannot be trusted taking the ball every fifth day. The Cubs have gone just 10-17 when he's taken the ball.

At 34 years old, it's easy to predict that things will only get worse before they get better for the soon-to-be free agent. We wish him the best, but in 2025, the Cubs will be better off without him.

Cubs will ditch at least one bullpen member in Drew Smyly

When the Cubs gave Drew Smyly a two-year contract worth $19 million, they expected him to be an important cog in their rotation. He was coming off a solid season in 2021 for Chicago, and had a strong track record as a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, the deal never panned out for the Cubs from the very beginning.

Smyly's struggles in 2023 were apparent as the left-hander had a 5.62 ERA in 23 starts, forcing a move to the bullpen for much of the second half. Smyly pitching well down the stretch in relief likely saved him from getting DFA'd that offseason.

He missed roughly a month due to injury earlier this season, but when he's been on the field, he's been mostly solid working solely out of the bullpen, posting a 3.54 ERA in 46 appearances and 56 innings of work. He has been mostly reliable as a lower-leverage reliever who also has the ability to go more than one inning if needed.

The Cubs have use for a pitcher like Smyly, but they won't be picking up their end of his $10 million mutual option after this season. They could potentially bring him back for cheaper, but since the Cubs will be letting Smyly get to free agency anyway and also placed him onto waivers recently, chances are, his Cubs tenure is wrapping up.

It ended as well as any Cubs fan would've expected it to after what transpired for most of 2023, but still, it wound up being a pretty awful deal signed by Jed Hoyer.

Cubs waiver claim on a rival backfired

With the St. Louis Cardinals all but out of postseason contention themselves, they chose to place Shawn Armstrong, a pitcher who they had just acquired at the trade deadline and who had been pitching well for them, onto waivers. The Cubs, believing they still had a chance, took a shot on him.

The Cubs obviously will be missing out on the postseason but that's not Armstrong's fault at all. The right-hander has pitched well in his limited time with the team, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings of work across seven appearances.

He's pitched well enough to be on the team in 2025, but he's also set to hit free agency this offseason, is 34 years old, and, for much of the year, struggled mightily with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He's a fine reliever to consider bringing back, but with major bullpen upgrades needed, the Cubs need to prioritize elsewhere at least to start the offseason.

Cubs need to aim higher with right-handed pitching

While Jed Hoyer failed miserably to do enough for the Cubs bullpen this past offseason, he has done a fine job adding to their bullpen as the season has progressed. Armstrong, as mentioned above, has pitched well in his short stint, as has Nate Pearson who the Cubs acquired at the deadline. Perhaps nobody has been a bigger addition than Jorge Lopez, though, who after his entertaining exit from the New York Mets turned his season around in a huge way in a Cubs uniform.

In 22 appearances for the Cubs, Lopez has posted a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings of work, pitching his way into high leverage spots for Chicago as the season has progressed.

Again, he'd be a solid arm to bring back, but the Cubs need to aim higher. Outside of an outlier All-Star season in 2022, Lopez has been mediocre at best, as evidenced by his career 5.27 ERA across nine seasons.

With how volatile relievers can be, the Cubs should thank Lopez for his contributions this season, and see what they can find on the open market.