The 38th annual Cubs Convention wrapped at the Sheraton Grand Riverwalk Hotel in Chicago on Sunday. There was an extra buzz all weekend thanks to the return of a former player to the alumni and the arrival of a new one to the active roster. Looming over that excitement, however, was the reality that there’s a clear front-runner in the National League, and it’s not the Cubs. But with the start of spring training just a few weeks away, the 2025 club looks at least like it should be better than the 83-win ’23 and ’24 teams.
Let’s start with the good, acknowledge the not-so-good, and end on a positive note. First, the long-awaited return of Sammy Sosa:
Sammy is back!
Whether or not you care if Sosa used PEDs during his playing career, and whether or not you think an apology was necessary before he was allowed to return to the organization, Sammy’s 21-year exile from the Cubs officially ended Friday night.
He was careful not to say that the “mistakes” he referenced in his December 19 statement were PED-related, but the fan sentiment was obvious: They were just glad to have him back. And Sammy seemed even more happy to be back. He was downright jubilant anytime he made an appearance over the weekend, whether it was running out on the stage during Friday’s opening ceremony with an American flag or stopping to teach a young fan his legendary hop.
Sosa is undeniably a major part of Cubs history. He played during a time when PEDs were widely used, and many suspect that he was among them. But Sosa was never caught and never tested positive. He did other things, like corking his bat and leaving the team at the end of the 2004 season, but Sosa brought more joy to the Cubs than he did anything else. It’s good to have him back.
The Dodgers
International free agent Roki Sasaki announced on Instagram on Friday that he was joining the Dodgers. The Cubs were among the final teams he considered, but not the team he chose. This move, followed by the news on Sunday that Tanner Scott — despite a sizable offer from the Cubs — chose the Dodgers as well, seems to cement Los Angeles as the clear favorite to win the National League. Again. As if being defending World Series champions isn’t enough, they have had one of the best offseasons in baseball.
Team president Jed Hoyer talked to fans about the salary deferrals during his panel Saturday morning, and then when speaking to media afterward, he stressed that the Dodgers’ success with free agents has more than just money behind it.
“It’s a great organization that’s kind of running on all cylinders,” he said. “They do well in the draft. They do well internationally. They make smart trades. They do a good job finding value on the margins, and then also they can go sign major free agents.”
General manager Carter Hawkins said that when it comes to organizational culture, the Cubs have the strongest case around the league, but competing financially with teams like the Dodgers and the Mets can be tough. Chairman Tom Ricketts didn’t exactly give fans a reason to hope he’ll open up the pocketbook, however.
“They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn’t true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that’s about it,” he said.
Cubs fans might be glad to see the team posting a winning record in consecutive seasons, but the bar is higher than that. They expect to see their team in the postseason, and the guys on the roster have the same expectation.
“It’s tough watching the playoffs, thinking ‘[I] wish my team was there competing in those situations.’ It’s always tough for me to watch the playoffs, especially the last two years,” Justin Steele said.
The Bullpen
It didn’t take long for a fan to ask about last year’s 26 blown saves during the Hoyer/Hawkins 9:00 a.m. panel on Saturday. Fans are happy about Kyle Tucker (more on him later), but one of the ways the Cubs needed to improve after last season was through the reliever corps.
On that front, they’ve added substantially to the pitching staff as a whole. Since November, Rob Zastryzny, Eli Morgan, Matthew Boyd, Cody Poteet, Caleb Thielbar, Matt Festa, and Colin Rea have all joined the major league roster via trades and free agency. None of these are top-tier arms, and there is no obvious closer on the roster yet, but the Cubs have generally been good at getting the best out of low-cost pitchers.
There are still other options available to fill the closer role, and the Cubs have internal possibilities as well. Late last season, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge emerged as potential high leverage arms, for example. There’s a chance that someone already in the organization develops into a closer like Adbert Alzolay did before injuries derailed his trajectory.
Craig Counsell’s philosophy with his pitching staff is about finding “out-getters” and piecing together the right puzzle to get him all the innings necessary for a full season, and despite having Josh Hader on his staff for so many years with the Brewers, Counsell does not seem concerned about having a named closer, at least at this point in the offseason, but he recognizes the need for stability in that spot.
“It’s an area that gets a lot of attention,” he said, “and for good reason, right? Because I think emotionally for all of us, for fans, for everybody, it’s tough losing games like that.”
Kyle Tucker is going to lift the lineup
One way the Cubs should be obviously better in 2025 is the offense. They struggled to score at times the last two seasons, but with the addition of Kyle Tucker, they have a real threat in the top third of the lineup.
“When you look at lineups across the league, and you sit in pitchers’ meetings, there’s certain guys that always come up in those meetings, and Tucker is going to be one of those guys,” hitting coach Dustin Kelly said.
Tucker — who turned 28 on Friday — has been an All Star for three straight years, and his numbers rival Juan Soto’s. In just 78 games last season, he hit as many home runs as any member of the Cubs and bested their WAR totals.
The problem is, Tucker will most likely be with the Cubs for just the 2025 season. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this year, and every indication from his camp is that he plans to test the market. The good news in the short term is that a lot more balls should be flying into the bleachers this summer, and Tucker expects the Cubs to compete for the division in 2025:
Final Notes
It would be wrong not to mention that in the midst of all the Sosa excitement, he and Derrek Lee were announced as this year’s inductees into the Cubs Hall of Fame. Lee spoke fondly of his time in Chicago, and undoubtedly his ceremony this summer will bring back memories of his incredible seasons with the Cubs from 2004-2010.
Tucker joining the Cubs means that Seiya Suzuki will be the full-time designated hitter, as long as Tucker, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong stay healthy. Suzuki has said in the past that he doesn’t want to be a DH, but Counsell said he’s willing to be a team player: “He understands, he’s on board. He wants to play the field, but he understands that right now, this is kind of where the team sits.”
Second baseman Nico Hoerner is happy with the progress he’s making rehabbing from his October flexor tendon surgery, but he has not started a hitting or throwing program yet, and it’s not clear whether he’ll be ready to play when the Cubs open the season in Japan in mid-March or even when the stateside portion of the season begins in Arizona on March 27.
Matt Shaw seems like the clear choice to play third base this year, and he’s already been in Arizona working at the Cubs’ facilities to get ready.
“Exciting, you hope that that’s because they have belief in me,” Shaw said of the offseason moves that cleared the path for him to start at third base. “We’ll see how everything pans out. Obviously, I’m going to do everything I can to earn that position.”
The Cubs begin spring training officially on Super Bowl weekend, and until then, keep on eye out for further additions to the pitching staff, specifically their bullpen. Both Hoyer and Hawkins said on Saturday that their primary focus is continuing to add to that part of the roster.
