The MLB General Manager’s start next week and I suppose this is where the Chicago Cubs will start to lay the ground work for any trades they may like to try to make. The Cubs have several things that need to be taken care of. This team needs a lot of work.
This team is devoid of depth in their minor league system. They need pitching at the major league level. They also need lots of speed and defense. They could use an upgrade at every position on the field defensively.
The Chicago Cubs still need a manager and that decision will come next week. They also have to finally finish off the compensation deal with the Boston Red Sox.
What will the Cubs do to make this team competitive? There is a lot out there that the Cubs can look into.
They need to decide if they will make trade for New York Mets third baseman David Wright. He may or may not be on the trading block, but the Cubs can definitely explore this option. Wright would be a defensive upgrade at third base and his power will return in Wrigley Field with their short power alleys.
Then there is the phenomenal Yoennis Cespedes from Cuba. The 26 year old outfielder is expected to take in a contract that will be bigger than Aroldis Chapman’s contract a couple of years ago. That contract was 6 years 30 million dollars. Cespedes is a five tool athlete that can be gotten in his prime years for a good price. This is the type of move that the Cubs can make to better their team and keep the payroll down. If Tom Ricketts would like to continue spending 20 million dollars on international talent and the MLB draft, then the Chicago Cubs should have no problem obtaining this guy if the front office see in him what the media has seen in him.
Junior Lake is someone that may have put himself in position to help the major league team next year. I see this kid playing right field instead of shortstop though. He has a rocket arm and a lot of speed. My opinion is that he will hit for power in Wrigley Field if he indeed continues to develop and is not part of any trades. The Cubs can be very competitive with a few good moves like the ones above.
The pitching still needs to be addressed and the Cubs have no one in the minors that seems to be on the verge of coming up and being a starter. This team in my opinion needs to go into camp with at least nine starters fighting for the five available spots.
Yu Darvish may be posted by his Japanese team, but I do not think the Cubs will bid for him. I believe they will try to find value in guys that may be coming off an injury and trying to rebuild their value. They could also trade Carlos Marmol which would net them a starter or two. Getting pitching will be the toughest job for the Cubs because everyone is looking for pitching.
The Cubs know what they need, now they just have to go out and get it. It all starts next week at the General Manager’s meetings.