The Chicago Cubs recently lost in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS), a series the Dodgers absolutely dominated. Some people are rather disappointed by the Cubs loss in the NLCS after last year’s amazing run winning the World Series in seven games.
However, making it to their third straight NLCS after struggling to get 80 wins since 2009 is a big accomplishment, and really another great year for the Cubs.
Now that the season is over though, they are looking forward towards next year and I am sure many moves will be made by General Manager Jed Hoyer and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.
As I said, the Dodgers dominated this year’s NLCS and look like the team to beat not only this year but for years to come with all of their young talent performing the way they are. The Dodgers and Cubs have met in both of the past NLCS’ and this year the Cubs definitely met their match. In my opinion, the Dodgers are their main competition in trying to make it back to the World Series in 2018.
Obviously, there are other extremely talented teams in the National League, including the Nationals, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and even the Brewers and Cardinals within their own division, but I could definitely see a third straight Dodgers Cubs NLCS. The problem for Hoyer and Epstein is how to get their roster talented enough both offensively and defensively while managing their young players and veterans.
The Cubs have a lot of young talent as well as good veteran players, but it is difficult to manage them and give them all the playing time they would probably have on most other teams. This is a big thing for Epstein to consider this offseason while thinking about making some trades.
A big name in the trade considerations is Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber is one of Epstein's favorite players as he has deemed him untradeable in past years. Schwarber is an excellent offensive talent that has a lot of pop in his bat. He can hit a lot of home runs and is just another big left-handed bat to add to an already talented lineup and be a tough out for opposing pitchers.
Sounds great, right? Well, the downfall of Schwarber is that there is no true defensive position for him to play. He came up as a catcher and outfielder, but with his knee injury in 2016, he does not really catch anymore. Schwarber can play a decent left field, but his athleticism is not great out there and he does miss some balls other outfielders on the roster would most definitely catch.
He could be the perfect DH in an American League roster and could probably bring in a decently big name for the Cubs in return.
Schwarber is not the only guy like this. Javier Baez is one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball, but has no discipline at the plate and is pretty all or nothing.
Albert Almora Jr. is also a great fielder, and has shown the ability to have great at-bats, but has not had enough time to really show his true talent. Jason Heyward is on a huge contract and has not performed at all like they thought he would at the plate. Ben Zobrist was the World Series MVP and has been a great piece for the Cubs, but he is like Schwarber where he is sort of a liability in the outfield.
There are a lot of decisions to make with these pieces and more to sell or keep for the Cubs.
Free agency is another aspect to add on top of that. Jake Arrieta is going to free agency, and he has been a huge piece for them the past few years. Unless they get him back, there is a gaping hole now in their starting pitching rotation.
Not only that, but the 2018 free agent class has a lot of big-name players headlined by Bryce Harper who has hinted at being interested in playing in Chicago for the Cubs to team up with Bryant again. The Cubs also have a lot of their young talent becoming free agents in 2022 or 2023.
That seems like a long way away, but when you are talking Baez, Bryant, Contreras, Rizzo, Russel, and Schwarber needing to be dealt with, there is some serious money involved that should be thought about ahead of time.
The Cubs bullpen was also exposed this postseason. Wade Davis was the only piece that consistently got outs and could be relied on, which resulted in him being way over-used. The bullpen should definitely warrant some attention as well this offseason.
It is maybe a spot that could be improved with some of those pieces mentioned above. Trading one or two of those “extra” guys away for a starter or bullpen piece could help to solve both of those problems and really help the team excel.
The Cubs have a good problem to have, one that many teams probably wish they had. They have too much talent in too many places to play them all at the same time, but it is also a tricky problem.
Who do you believe in and keep and who do you trade to get other necessary pieces? Some tough choices are ahead and it could definitely be an interesting off season for the Cubs with some big changes going into the 2018 season.
