1 Player The Cubs Should Bring Back In Free Agency

The Chicago Cubs will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason. 

They will have to decide which players they are fine letting go and which players they might want back. With players like Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga, Clay Holmes, Carson Kelly, and Matthew Boyd set to hit free agency, the Cubs can’t afford to re-sign all of them. 

That will force the front office to really evaluate who they want to return. There have already been reports linking Kevin Gausman back to Toronto, and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic recently explained why Imanaga might have thrown his final pitch in a Cubs uniform. 

However, there is one free agent that the Cubs should bring back no matter what. He's being overlooked in this year’s free-agent class, but posted strong numbers for the team in the second half. This pitcher also likely wouldn’t cost much to bring back. 

That pitcher is David Peterson. 

Peterson was acquired by Chicago in late June amid a rough start to the season. The southpaw had a 6.09 ERA over 68 innings pitched with the New York Mets before being traded. With the Cubs needing some pitching help after Ben Brown went down, the front office quickly pivoted to acquire a cheap, veteran pitcher. 

The 31-year-old left-hander then became one of the Cubs’ most reliable starters in the final months of the regular season. Peterson posted a 3.70 ERA, 1.369 WHIP, and 74 strikeouts in 80 ⅓ innings pitched for Chicago. 

Peterson really stepped up for a Cubs team that needed some quality pitching down the stretch. He allowed one earned run or fewer in eight of his 15 starts and allowed two runs or fewer in 12 of those 15 outings. Outside of a 10-run clunker against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 3, the former All-Star provided consistency in Chicago’s rotation. 

That’s why the Cubs should absolutely look to bring him back. His swing-and-miss numbers won’t jump off the page, but he’s exactly the type of pitcher who thrives pitching in front of this elite defense. 

Peterson is an elite groundball pitcher and ranked in the 86th percentile in groundball rate in 2026 (50.8%). That plays well in front of a defense that includes former Gold Glover Alex Bregman, former Gold Glover Nico Hoerner, former Gold Glover Dansby Swanson, and above-average defender Michael Busch. 

Peterson would be the perfect low-cost free-agent pickup by the Cubs. He thrived with the team once he was acquired in June and would fill a hole in the rotation for the 2027 season.