One Player the Cubs Can't Afford to Lose in Free Agency

The Chicago Cubs have plenty of impending free agents that will need to be addressed during the offseason. Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes (player option) were both acquired as rental starting pitchers at the trade deadline, and both will likely hit free agency after 2026. They'll be joined by other Cubs starting pitchers, including Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga.

(Boyd has a mutual option, which is very rarely picked up by both parties).

As far as the offense is concerned, it's the outfield that really will be in question. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Conforto, and even the recently acquired Tyrone Taylor will all be unrestricted free agents at the end of 2026. That's every Cubs outfielder on the active roster besides Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Of that group, the Cubs can ill afford to let Seiya Suzuki walk away. Negotiating a contract extension or re-signing him at the first opportunity possible this winter should be at the top of Jed Hoyer's priority list.

Suzuki's bat is just too meaningful to the Cubs lineup, and his consistency over the years cannot be taken for granted. He's now hit 20 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons, peaking at 32 with 103 RBIs in 2025. His OPS has been above .800 in each of the last four seasons, and his OPS+ has been above 126 over that same time frame. Suzuki is a ridiculously talented hitter with power to all fields. Year over year, his offensive numbers are steady and consistent, and in 2026, he's also taken a leap defensively with 4 Outs Above Average, putting him in the 89th percentile of fielders, with his arm strength in the 84th percentile.

Suzuki's 3.2 fWAR is currently third on the Cubs behind Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson, and he's currently pacing to have the most "valuable" season of his Major League Baseball career.

As evidenced by how they've been playing recently, the Chicago Cubs are currently in a contention window where winning the World Series is the only and ultimate goal. This isn't some young core of prospects that are going to grow and develop with one another. It's a team of established veterans in win-now mode. And the Cubs would be wise to extend that window for as long as possible. That means adding more premium talent in free agency over the winter, but it also means retaining some of your veterans who are still getting the job done and are crucial to team success.

Maybe the Cubs would be uncomfortable giving Seiya Suzuki a five- or six-year contract with him about to turn 32 years old. That's fair enough. But that just means the organization needs to raise the AAV and boost Suzuki's annual salary on a three- to four-year deal that keeps him on the North Side of Chicago for the rest of this competitive window.

There will be a time for a reset. There's a time to go out with the old and in with the new. Now is not that time for the Cubs. Especially when Seiya Suzuki has been one of the steadiest bats in the lineup all season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the team's MVP candidate. But we've seen months where Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman were completely inept at the plate. Nico Hoerner has had his slumps. Ian Happ has the lowest OPS of his career. The one guy who hasn't wavered is Seiya. And that should mean something when the Cubs are weighing what to do as contracts expire.