Despite a shift in urgency, Jed Hoyer still showing conservative ways with the Cubs

Like the majority of Chicago Cubs fans, I was thrilled by the team's acquisition of Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker. It really was a swing-for-the-fences move—one we are not used to seeing. While it's possible Jed Hoyer could make another big move, there's no guarantee of that.

Going into this offseason, it was thought that the Cubs would look for an impact bat, a top-of-the-rotation starter, and a closer, or at least a high-leverage reliever or two.

The impact bat has been taken care, but the pitching issues, not as much.

The Bullpen Features a Cast of Thousands

The Cubs' 40-man roster features several new acquisitions, many of them potential bullpen help. I appreciate the Cubs adding quantity. In the past couple of years, they've spent too much time going with relievers who clearly weren't getting the job done. When looking at the Cubs' 40-man roster, I count about 18 guys who could be pitching out of the pen sometime during the 2025 season.

The most prominent names added to the pen are Eli Morgan, Ryan Pressley, and Ryan Brasier. While the additions of Ryan Pressly and Ryan Brasier may help the Cubs lead the NL in bullpen Ryans, I'm not sure how much I trust them closing out games for the Cubs. I'm having some flashbacks.

It seems like the Cubs recently signed an Astros reliever to help the team in high-leverage situations. Oh yeah, that was Hector Neris, aka Heart Attack Hector. When he came to the Cubs, Neris was 35 and coming off two declining years. Pressly is 36 and coming off a year that showed diminishing returns.

As for Brasier, he had a phenomenal partial season with the Dodgers in 2023 and solid numbers in limited use for the Dodgers in 2024. He turns 38 in August.

Did the Cubs sign some Dodgers' guy after a LA made a world series run a little while back? Oh yeah, Brandon Morrow. While Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco, Brandon Morrow left his arm in Los Angeles. Morrow pitched only 30.2 innings for the Cubs.

Eli Morgan should actually be a worthwhile gamble. Morgan is only 28 years old and is coming off the strongest season of his career, with an ERA of 1.97. For context, his career ERA is 3.97.

And the same pattern holds true with the pitchers

The Cubs also added a couple of starters, Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea. In a vacuum, those are nice additions. Boyd was effective in limited action in 2024, pitching 51.1 innings in regular and post-season games.

As for Rea, he has been a solid starter throughout his career and is an upgrade over Kyle Hendricks, but not a huge one. In his three seasons with the Brewers, he put up an ERA of 4.46. His peripheral numbers are pedestrian.

The Cubs have the money and cap space to make a really big move, however, barring an Alex Bregman signing, the Cubs could leave it unspent. If the Cubs sign Bregman, that means the Cubs could then trade Nico Hoerner. Long term, I'd rather have Hoerner.