Chicago Cubs Have Plethora of Offseason Needs to Address
The Chicago Cubs just finished another losing season, but this year they managed to keep their losses under 90 games. Despite having a young roster and prospects at nearly every position, Chicago could use a few upgrades and depth added to their roster, especially if their president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, wants them to make it to the postseason in 2015.
The Cubs were among the bottom five teams in the league in team batting average, on-base percentage and total runs. They were also ranked no lower than 19th in major pitching categories (ERA, Quality Starts, BAA and Whip). With this in mind, the Cubs’ major needs should be focused on increasing OBP, because they have an offense with a lot of power and two- or three-run homers are a lot better than solo shots. Chicago also needs to address its horribly inconsistent starting rotation.
After seeing the disasters that were Edwin Jackson and Travis Wood, I would not be surprised to see their roles with the ball club change. On the flip side, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and Tsuyoshi Wada pitched for a combined 2.68 era over the course of 305 innings. Now the Cubs will have to wait and see if these breakout players can maintain their success over the coming years, but they should at least be given a shot at starting in 2015. If the Cubs end up with as much production from those three pitchers in 2015, then they could have one of the best rotations in baseball if they can sign one or two league average or better pitchers. The Cubs have been linked to a number of big-name starters; however, there are a few starters not named, including Jon Lester, James Shields or Max Scherzer, who could make them competitive in 2015.
The Cubs have also expressed interest in acquiring the services of a veteran leader from the free-agent market. While Russell Martin has to be a high candidate on this list, there are other players who could fit in nicely in the Cubs’ system. Jonny Gomes and Ben Zobrist could come at a nice price and fill this role well. Zobrist would be especially valuable because he can play a number of positions at the major-league level, which would come in handy by giving guys like Jorge Soler the day off.
Matthew Haines is a Chicago Cubs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mhaine86 , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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