Finding 7 Wins with Cubs Christmas Wishlist

I finished my Christmas shopping weeks ago, making today a Festivus miracle of sorts. Countless sufferers at this hour are spending thousands of dollars tidying up their lists, looking for bargains in retail’s annual inventory blowout spectacular. Me? I’m sipping eggnog out of my official Wally World Christmas Moose Cup, wondering why the heck Jed Hoyer continues to settle on 83-ish wins rather than the 90 he continually promises. Perhaps it’s truculent pride, abject cynicism, or an extra shot of bourbon in my nog, but even on Hoyer’s Old Navy budget, finding seven wins shouldn’t be that difficult.

Acquiring Kyle Tucker was a nice start. The Cubs needed left-handed power and he should hit 30+ home runs if he can avoid injury. However, giving up Cody Bellinger for what feels like salary relief diminishes the impact of the Tucker trade. Chicago’s additions, including Matthew Boyd, Carson Kelly, and Eli Morgan, make the Cubs an 84-85 win team when you calculate the losses of Bellinger and Isaac Paredes. Matt Shaw will probably be in the running for Rookie of the Year, but counting on that type of production gets good baseball executives fired too often. While Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to be better, he’s also still in that critical prove-it stage.

So, how do we find seven wins? I have a few ideas, so I’ve put together a Cubs Christmas wishlist, knowing full well that any additions will, of course, be post-holiday alms. If you ask any analyst, they’d say the Cubs need one more starter, an established reliever, and a backup infielder who can preferably play either corner. I’d also like to see Hoyer extend Tucker and Justin Steele, but we’ll tackle payroll economics at a later date. I’ll instead arm myself with about $30 million to get those seven wins.

The Cubs need a starter and inventory is getting low now that Walker Buehler has signed with the Red Sox. Corbin Burnes is still available, but he’ll eat a significant chunk of my budget if not all of it. He’s additionally attached to a qualifying offer from the Orioles, so Burnes is not a fit. Jack Flaherty is unencumbered, as are Andrew Heaney, Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer. Flaherty was predicted by MLBTR to earn $115 million over five years, which might be a stretch. I like Flaherty, but I prefer a contract similar to the one Jameson Taillon signed two years ago. I’d have pen and contract in hand if I could get the 29-year-old righty at $18 million AAV.

As nice an addition as Flaherty would be to Chicago’s rotation, he’s runner-up on my wishlist. Give me Rōki Sasaki, please, and thank you. The Dodgers and Padres are considered the favorites, but I disagree with that assessment. To me, Sasaki is destined to be a Cub, and I’ll give you five reasons why:

1. The influence of Shōta Imanaga and his quick assimilation to living in Chicago.
2. The quickness with which Hoyer deescalated the Seiya Suzuki trade rumors.
3. Hoyer’s reluctance to overpay for Jesús Luzardo.
4. The team’s relationship with Joel Wolfe, who represents Suzuki and Sasaki.
5. The marketing opportunities available to Sasaki in Chicago.

Let’s make Sasaki a Cub and move on to a bullpen addition. Don’t expect the Cubs to pursue Tanner Scott because that’s not how Hoyer approaches potential acquisitions on the relief market.

“Not only will we be looking at the free-agent market, but it’s also trying to make small moves to improve,” Hoyer said at the Winter Meetings. “Part of it is feeling good about our pitching infrastructure, trying to find guys or maybe transactions that aren’t headlines over the course of the winter. But we feel like there are guys that we can bring in and make better, and they can provide that depth.”

The first guy that makes sense to me is Jorge López, and I can see him returning to the Cubs on a one-year deal. He had a resurgence in Chicago, but I’d be shocked if he is paid more than the $2 million he made last season. If you asked me a month ago, I’d also say trading for Mason Miller makes sense. The Athletics are spending money though, so consider Miller unavailable. That said, I’m championing Kirby Yates, especially if Chicago is fortunate enough to land Sasaki.

There was one reliever better than Yates last season, and that was Emmanuel Clase. You may remember he was connected to the Cubs often last winter. Yates locked down 33 saves for the Rangers in 2024, blowing just one game. Chicago’s bullpen has been devoid of that type of consistency since Aroldis Chapman left town eight seasons ago. Yates also pitched to a 1.17 ERA for Texas over 61.2 innings while striking out 35.9% of his opponents. He’s had an inconsistent career but had a similarly dominating season with the Padres in 2019. That said, you’d be a fool not to expect some regression.

If Yates is too expensive, I’d consider Andrew Kittredge at a cost that figures to be about half as much. Kittredge led the National League with 37 holds last season. He did blow seven leads but allowed earned runs in only three of those outings. He’d fill the same role Mark Leiter Jr. did when he played for the Cubs, he’s just not as potentially dominant as Yates.

Getting Sasaki and Yates makes the Cubs a 90-win team on paper, but we’re still seeking a backup infielder. Why is nobody talking about Brendan Rodgers? I know he never lived up to the hype of being the third overall pick, but he’s 28, can play any infield position, and wouldn’t leave you in a hole if he had to start. The Rockies non-tendered the former Gold Glove winner last month because they couldn’t trade him. Arbitration estimates had Rodgers earning $5.5 million, so he’ll cost less than that; otherwise, somebody would have traded for him. He’d also provide better-than-replacement production while Nico Hoerner heals. Rodgers is also a nice stopgap until James Triantos is ready.

So that’s my list: Sasaki, Yates, and Rodgers. Cubs fans would feel quite confident in the team’s chances if Hoyer can pull that off. Is it a championship-caliber team? Not likely, but Chicago’s North Side baseballers are content to cling to the underbodies of the MLB elite as a barnacle attaches itself to the rotting hulk of a tramp steamer. Hoyer’s goal is strictly to win the division. The playoffs are a different animal, but adding Sasaki to Steele and Imanaga would give Chicago three rotational studs that can beat any team at any given time. Yates is a lockdown reliever who eats high-leverage innings. Rodgers gives Chicago a defensive asset with a little pop in his bat.

I found Hoyer the seven wins he needs, if not more. That puts me on Santa’s nice list, right?