The Chicago Cubs have made the biggest move in what has been a very quiet offseason so far, stealing Craig Counsell away from the Brewers to be their new manager. Counsell comes to Chicago as a proven winner looking to take this team back to the postseason and hopefully the World Series.
As thrilling as the Counsell surprise was, it's not the only big move Chicago is expected to make. It's hard to pinpoint what moves are on the horizon, but the Cubs are expected to be one of the more active teams this offseason. They're a team that was on the cusp of a postseason berth before stumbling to an 83-79 finish, narrowly missing out of the playoffs.
With the Winter Meetings rapidly approaching, there are several big moves Cubs fans would like to see Jed Hoyer make as he attempts to make this team a true contender.
1) Dream Winter Meetings move the Cubs should make: Signing Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani is the player Cubs fans should be dreaming about. He's very clearly the best player on the planet and could be the best player we've ever seen. The best part is that the Ohtani dreams feel like they could become reality.
Signing Ohtani would give the Cubs a big bat to put right in the middle of their lineup surrounded by solid on-base guys such as Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki.
Yes, the fact that Ohtani can't pitch in 2024 is frustrating, but the Cubs don't exactly need another pitcher as much as they could use another hitter. The Cubs will likely lose Marcus Stroman in free agency but already have Justin Steele leading the staff with capable arms in the middle and Cade Horton on the rise. With Cody Bellinger hitting free agency, the lack of a middle-of-the-order bat is glaring.
Signing Ohtani comes with a whole lot of risk, of course, but it's one worth taking. He immediately transforms this team from a bubble postseason team to a true contender if not the favorite for the NL Central division title.
2) Dream Winter Meetings move the Cubs should make: Trading for Juan Soto
Signing Shohei Ohtani would be the biggest free agency addition in franchise history. A trade for Juan Soto might just be the biggest trade acquisition in franchise history. Yes, he's that good.
The Cubs can trade for Soto and immediately put him in the middle of their order. He'd replace Bellinger in the outfield. They'd lose a lot defensively, but also gain a lot offensively. Soto is a true difference-maker with the bat.
Just as signing Ohtani, trading for Soto would come with major risk. He's in the final year of team control and is almost certainly going to test free agency after the season no matter where he is. Yes, there's always the chance he could re-sign, but is that a risk the Cubs are willing to take? It'd take a whole lot to land him.
With Soto likely being on the move this offseason and the Cubs having the prospect capital and the money to make a deal work, there's no reason for Hoyer to not make the call. If he can get the ask down enough, the Cubs can add Soto while also not trading prospects like Pete Crow-Armstrong or Cade Horton. That's the ultimate dream.
3) Dream Winter Meetings move the Cubs should make: Signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Pairing Justin Steele with Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto would give the Cubs one of the best one-two punches in all of baseball when it comes to their rotation. Yamamoto figures to be a fairly sizable upgrade over Marcus Stroman and is far more appealing than the other free agent starters that can actually pitch in 2024.
Yamamoto is coming off three straight Sawamura Awards (Japanese version of the Cy Young) and projects as a very clear frontline starter. And that's just for 2024, he can easily improve.
The right-hander is just 25 years old, meaning he's not even in the prime of his career yet. His youth is what makes him far more appealing than arms like Sonny Gray or Blake Snell. The Cubs can sign him to a deal for seven or eight years and not worry about a steep decline as he ages. Most free agents become available when they're around or over the age of 30. Yamamoto is five years younger.
The youth is great, but also means more teams will be in on him. With the Cubs having a young roster, signing Yamamoto would allow him to grow with his teammates and push the 'win now' window a bit further down the line until everyone is ready. Signing Ohtani means it's time to win right now while some of the top Cubs prospects are still developing. Signing Yamamoto means it's time to win when everyone is ready.
4) Dream Winter Meetings move the Cubs should make: Trading for Dylan Cease
The biggest name when it comes to pitching trade targets is undoubtedly Corbin Burnes, but a Burnes trade to the Cubs feels extremely unlikely. Yes, this is a dream article, but in some ways a Cease acquisition actually makes more sense than Burnes.
The main deciding factor here is the extra year of control. While Burnes is a free agent at the end of the season, Cease has an additional year in which the Cubs would control him. Since both deals would involve a hefty package going the other way, that extra year means a lot.
Cease is coming off a bit of a down year with the White Sox but was the victim of some atrocious defense played behind him, and was the AL Cy Young runner-up in the 2022 season. Cease is incredibly durable, and should at the worst-case scenario eat close to 200 innings. That alone is valuable.
Cease should be incredibly comfortable if the Cubs did acquire him because he was once a Cubs prospect. He was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox in the deal that brought Jose Quintana to the North Side. Finding a way to get Cease back and put him alongside Steele at the top of the rotation should be high up on Hoyer's list.
5) Dream Winter Meetings move the Cubs should make: Re-signing Cody Bellinger
The Cubs were the team that took the gamble on Cody Bellinger and saw their bet pay off exponentially well. Bellinger went from a player who was non-tendered by one of the smartest organizations in all of baseball, the Dodgers, to one who re-discovered his MVP swing and put together a monster year for the Cubs.
Bellinger wound up placing tenth in the NL MVP balloting and was arguably the biggest reason Chicago stuck in the playoff race for as long as they did. Bellinger now enters free agency as the clear best outfielder available, and the Cubs will at the very least get a draft pick if he departs as he rejected the club's qualifying offer.
Signing Bellinger would come with some risk as well, as he was just dreadful for three years before his outstanding season in 2023. Yes, Bellinger could easily just maintain this great form which would be awesome, but he could also get back into a multi-year slump which would be a disaster.
At the end of the day, re-signing Bellinger is a risk the Cubs have to take, especially if they fail to acquire the other players on this list. He's a superstar when right, and can be the team's face of the franchise if they do bring him back.
