Exploring Options to Complete Roster as Cubs Remain Focused on Bullpen, Bench

The 2025 international free agency period opened on Wednesday, yet the Cubs apparently made no official signings despite having been eliminated from the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes. That feels like more than just a coincidence or someone forgetting to report on any deals, especially given Sasaki’s impact on the market as a whole and Mark Feinsand’s report about “a number of teams asking for international money.” The Dodgers and Padres are named, but there could be mystery teams involved as opportunities arise to poach young players left in limbo.

I noted earlier in the week that the Cubs could try to trade recently-DFA’d pitching prospect Michael Arias for IFA pool money, and that ended up being half right. They did indeed trade the young righty to the Yankees, just for regular ol’ cash considerations. The thought was that Jed Hoyer might go after some of the players displaced by other teams’ pursuits of Sasaki, but what if he’s looking to work in the opposite direction? By that I mean he could look to trade some of the Cubs’ pool to a team looking to max theirs out, or even just work deals without surrendering IFA money.

That latter option is probably most likely, as indications are that the Cubs will be announcing their signings soon. Still, other teams have told kids with whom they’d reached agreements that they are free to seek new deals elsewhere or wait until either the 2026 IFA period or Sasaki signs with someone else.

The Padres are one such team and they feel like a natural fit with the Cubs, or at least that’s what anecdotal evidence suggests. They’ve already shown a willingness to listen to offers for Dylan Cease, so the Cubs connection is pretty obvious there. And I don’t want to say Cease would become expendable should the Pads land Sasaki, but parting with the 29-year-old righty would be a little less painful following such a coup. Perhaps Hoyer could put together a package that includes IFA money, a solid depth starter, and a highly-ranked prospect to facilitate a reunion with Cease.

Makes sense on paper, but Hoyer doesn’t appear to be putting a lot of energy into bolstering the rotation.

“The bullpen’s been probably the area we’ve been focused on most in free agency,” Hoyer told David Kaplan and Gordon Wittenmyer during his most recent REKAP pod. “I do feel like trying to make sure we upgrade our bench, add some veteran presence to our bench would be good. I love the fact that we have all these good prospects that can come up and help, but you don’t want to have a ton of prospects on your roster in roles that…you want ’em to play every day in Iowa or be playing most every day in Chicago.

“I don’t think having those guys as bench players makes a lot of sense so we’ll be looking at different bench options to make sure that we’re deep.”

Despite the transparent language, I think there’s a way to look at this that still makes Cease a realistic target for the Cubs. First, however, let’s take what Hoyer said at face value and change the name of the Padres pitcher the Cubs might like to add. Multiple reports have San Diego entertaining interest in closer Robert Suárez, a 33-year-old on a very reasonable five-year, $46 million contract that runs through 2027 and includes an opt-out after next season.

The deal carries an average annual value of $9.2 million but only pays Suárez $8 million in each of the last two seasons, so opting out is a real possibility. Though his 22.9% strikeout rate ranked 101st out of 160 MLB pitchers with at least 50 innings last season (Tyson Miller and Jorge López were just above that at 23%), he posted a 2.77 ERA and a career-best 6.2% walk rate. What’s more, Suárez boasted an average 99.1 mph fastball that sat in MLB’s 99th percentile. He’s got a high-ish arm angle and generates more ride than most while busting righties in hard to stifle them in a big way.

That’s a pretty ideal fit for the Cubs, who have continually failed to add certainty to the bullpen via multiyear deals or strike-throwers with elite velo. Suárez is both, plus he’s relatively cheap as far as high-leverage relievers go. Now that we’ve established that option, let’s quickly pivot back to Cease before touching on a nice bench option.

Being focused on the bullpen doesn’t mean the Cubs aren’t on the lookout for another starter, and Cease is up there with Suárez in terms of fit. Cease can be counted on to put up around a 30% strikeout rate with a slightly elevated walk rate that is mitigated by his ability to limit homers (even though he does surrender some hard contact). He’s also got a 97 mph fastball with a nasty slider that was in the 99th percentile run value last season. If he could just figure out the curveball from that over-the-top angle…hoo, boy.

Now, this interest being legit would mean the Cubs are probably seeking to add relievers via free agency rather than trade. We keep hearing about Kirby Yates and Kyle Finnegan, both of whom remain on the radar for now. Yates could command $12+ million for a year and Cease has one year of control remaining at $13.75 million, so that would be right there at the $25 million or so we’ve figured the Cubs have left to spend. Finnegan should get at least $3 million less than Yates, so that’s something to consider.

Okay, but what if the Cubs do end up just signing all their IFAs and choosing not to part with what it would take to land either of those Padres pitchers? They could try to get both Finnegan and Yates for a combined $20-25 million, or perhaps they could just add one of those and use most of their remaining budget on the veteran bench bat Hoyer mentioned. Barring a surprise twist that sees Alex Bregman ending up on the North Side, the Cubs would like to bring in a professional hitter who can show Matt Shaw the ropes and handle at least third base if needed.

Enter Justin Turner. Though he just turned 40 in November and has shown signs of decline over the last few years, the bearded ginger still managed to post a 117 wRC+ over 539 plate appearances between Toronto and Seattle last season. His time at the hot corner has been very limited as he’s transitioned to more of a first base/DH role, but there’s still some pop in that right-handed swing and he can put together a great at-bat. With a price tag that shouldn’t reach $10 million on a one-year deal, Turner makes sense as a way to round out the roster.

And before you go pointing out how the same thing should have been true of Trey Mancini, who was much younger than Turner when the Cubs signed him, just check out their stats. Mancini only once put up a higher wRC+ than Turner did in his age-39 season, not to mention lower walk rates and a higher propensity for strikeouts.

I don’t know that any of these scenarios are particularly likely, only that the Cubs have certainly mulled some iterations of them over and should be actively pursuing moves here very soon. My personal preference would be Cease, Yates, and Turner, though that’s a $35 million pill Hoyer probably isn’t willing to swallow. What about Suárez, Turner, and Finnegan for $25-30 million? A team with the Cubs’ resources shouldn’t be batting an eye at the higher expenditure, but even the lower figure could be too rich for them. Guess we’ll just keep waiting and seeing.