One thing I think everyone here agrees on — and we don’t all agree on much! — is that the Cubs ought to sign one of the top free-agent hitters this offseason.
In my view, now that the team has traded for
a cost-controlled starting pitcher — and potentially a very good one in Edward Cabrera — it’s time to spend the big bucks on one of the top free-agent hitters. The Cubs need a bat to replace Kyle Tucker, who departed as a free agent.
There are four such players, and any one of them would be a big help to the 2026 Cubs offense. Let’s take a look at each, in alphabetical order.
Cody Bellinger
PROS: He’s familiar with the Cubs organization and Wrigley Field and is popular with the fanbase. He had a terrific season for the team in 2023, winning a Silver Slugger award and getting some downballot MVP votes. He had another solid season for the Yankees in 2025.
CONS: He didn’t have such a good season for the Cubs in 2024. He missed 32 games in each of his two Cubs seasons with injuries. His numbers at Yankee Stadium were excellent in 2025, not so good on the road, so maybe Wrigley Field isn’t that well suited for him.
Bo Bichette
PROS: He turns 28 in March, so is the youngest of this group. Came back from a 2024 injury to have a solid season for the Blue Jays in 2025 and hit .348/.444/.478 in the World Series
CONS: He’d be asked to play third base for the Cubs, as they already have Dansby Swanson at Bichette’s usual position of shortstop. He probably could do so, but has never played a professional game at third base.
Alex Bregman
PROS: The Cubs were after him last year and were outbid by the Red Sox, so clearly there’s mutual interest. He won a Gold Glove in 2024 and is a solid defender at third base. He’s seen as a good clubhouse presence.
CONS: He’s the oldest of this group as he turns 32 in March, so a short-term deal would be better for the team, though Bregman is looking for a longer-term contract. Such a deal would risk poor performance in the later years of any such contract.
Kyle Tucker
PROS: Like Bellinger, he’s familiar with the Cubs and Wrigley Field, though unlike Bellinger, he didn’t turn into a fan favorite in his one year with the team. He turns 29 next week, so he’s still relatively young.
CONS: Tucker has missed significant time each of the last two years with injuries. He’s probably looking for a deal much longer than the Cubs are willing to give.
Interestingly, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote essentially this same article today, calling on the Cubs to sign one of these four players. Even with Cabrera’s likely arbitration salary of about $3.7 million, the Cubs are still close to $35 million below the first luxury tax level and can afford to sign any of these four players — and the team has money coming off the books after 2026, so they could certainly fit any of them in the payroll over the next few seasons.
Rosenthal’s article concludes:
I’m sure [Tom] Ricketts doesn’t want to hear it, but the Cubs have fielded a top-10 Opening Day payroll only once since the pandemic – in 2024, when they were ninth.
Enough with the mid-market mindset. Chicago, by population, is the nation’s third-largest city. Let’s see the Cubs act like it.
Agreed. My personal choice here is Bichette, the youngest of the group, who could help the team for several years going forward. In fact, at 28 Bichette is a year younger than Nico Hoerner, a few months younger than Michael Busch, a year older than Miguel Amaya and just four years older than Pete Crow-Armstrong. He’d be the perfect fit.
Get it done, Tom and Jed.
