Cubs Insiders Don’t Expect Cubs To Spend Big On Relievers

A busy offseason lies ahead for the Chicago Cubs. 

The Cubs need plenty of pitching help before the start of the 2027 season. The biggest focus for the front office appears to be upgrading the rotation. Losing six starters from a season ago (Clay Holmes, Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga, David Peterson, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea) definitely puts the team in a rough spot. 

However, upgrading the bullpen should also be a top focus for the Cubs this winter. 

The Cubs bullpen definitely had its struggles throughout the 2026 season. This group dealt with a ton of injuries, and Jed Hoyer’s bullpen pickups last offseason didn’t really work. Both Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey didn’t contribute much to this team this past year. 

Maton posted a 6.18 ERA and 1.807 WHIP over 27 ⅔ innings pitched before spending most of the second half on the injured list with a knee issue. Harvey only threw four innings the entire season after dealing with a triceps injury. 

After those clear bullpen misses last offseason, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer can’t repeat that this winter. It’s imperative for the Cubs to make the right bullpen signings in free agency. 

Luckily, there are plenty of high-level relievers available on the open market this offseason. Relievers like Adrian Morejon, David Bednar, Steven Okert, Raisel Iglesias, Alex Vesia, and Pete Fairbanks could all be on the Cubs’ radar in free agency. 

Signing a reliever like Morejon or Bednar would go a long way toward fixing this Cubs bullpen. Morejon has emerged as one of the best setup men in baseball, posting an elite 2.58 ERA with a 27.3% strikeout rate over the last three seasons. Bednar would solve the team’s closer problems, as the veteran right-hander had a 2.47 ERA and 35 strikeouts with the Yankees last season. 

Unfortunately, Cubs insider Sahdev Sharma doesn’t believe the Cubs will be in play for some of those bullpen arms this winter. 

“My understanding of their thinking is no,” Sharma said on the recent episode of the North Side Territory podcast. “All of you that are thinking right now that the Cubs are going to be hugely active for relievers, big-name relievers, or guys you’ve heard of, I would not get your hopes up. They are happy with the base that they have.”

The Cubs obviously need some bullpen help this offseason. But it sounds like the front office will go about the bullpen as it usually does: find the hidden gems and hope it works. 

As of now, the Cubs bullpen consists of Jacob Webb, Ryan Zeferjahn, Ryan Rolison, Maton, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, and Daniel Palencia. Expect Chicago to add a few more relievers to that group before the start of the season.