Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs

The Cubs added star power in the Kyle Tucker trade, but otherwise made modest additions despite several other big swings.

Major League Signings

Matthew Boyd, SP: two years, $29MM. Includes $15MM mutual option for 2027 with a $2MM buyout
Carson Kelly, C: two years, $11.5MM. Includes $7.5MM mutual option for 2027 with a $1.5MM buyout
Justin Turner, 1B/DH: one year, $6MM. Includes a $10MM mutual option with a $2MM buyout
Colin Rea, SP/RP: one year, $5MM. Includes $6MM club option with a $750K buyout
Caleb Thielbar, RP: one year, $2.75MM
Jon Berti, 3B/2B: one year, $2MM

2025 spending: $33.25MM
Total spending: $56.25MM

Options Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Much like the previous winter with Marcus Stroman, this Cubs offseason kicked off with a pivotal player option decision that would affect their financial flexibility. This time, Cody Bellinger elected to take the $27.5MM owed to him in 2025 in lieu of a $2.5MM buyout, which also preserves a $25MM option on 2026 with a $5MM buyout. Bellinger’s decision was not surprising, as he’s now positioned himself to decline the ’26 option having collected a total of $32.5MM for ’25.

The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney suggested a couple of times early in the offseason that the Cubs were seeking a starting pitcher who “could be trusted in a playoff game.” Nonetheless, it wasn’t long before Mooney’s colleague Sahadev Sharma wrote that “the top tier of the starting pitching market has been ruled out” for the club. Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Corbin Burnes would go on to sign contracts ranging from $182-218MM (though some included deferred money), and the Cubs were seemingly never a factor on them due to what I assume are philosophical objections to five-plus year commitments to thirty-something-aged free agent starters.

Instead, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made a pre-Winter Meetings strike for 34-year-old southpaw Matthew Boyd. Boyd was available on a two-year contract because of his age and injury history. After totaling 355 2/3 innings for the 2018-19 Tigers, Boyd has not reached 80 innings in a season since.