The first transaction of the offseason has arrived as the Cubs have come to an agreement on a one-year deal for $2 million with right-handed reliever Jacob Webb. Robert Murray appears to have been first with the story.
Webb already had a team option for 2027 at $2.5 million. So what
this deal does is move $500k of that money to 2028 (in the form of the buyout) or it gives the Cubs a $4 million option for 2028. For Webb, it means that 20 percent of his salary will be deferred for a year but also a smaller amount will be subject to being cut if the lockout cuts out a significant part of the seasons. A lockout that extended one month into the season would only cost Webb 1/6 of $2 million rather than $2.5 million, for example.
The Cubs had a lot of problems with the bullpen this past year, but Jacob Webb was not one of them. After playing for the Rangers in 2025, Webb signed a one-year deal with the Cubs for $1.5 million last winter, plus the option for this year. He went on to make 68 appearances for the Cubs and went 6-5 with a 3.38 ERA. The 33-year-old Webb eventually became the Cubs’ closer for a while, until a few blown saves by Webb in August caused manager Craig Counsell to go with a more mix-and-match approach to the ninth inning rather than relying on just one guy. In any case, Webb did lead the team in saves last year with nine.
The Cubs will likely look to other pitchers to get saves in 2027, but this deal means they clearly expect him to pitch important innings in games. It also means the Cubs have their first piece of rebuilding the bullpen done by brining back one of the better pitchers of 2026.
