ESPN Gives Mediocre Grade To Cubs' Offseason

After starting with the bombshell of signing Craig Counsell as their manager, replacing David Ross, the Chicago Cubs' offseason started as hot as ever. Many believed the Cubs would not begin with a move like Counsell to fizzle off and stand pat. Eyes got big, and rumors swirled quickly.

However, as the calendar turned to 2024, nothing significant changed for the Cubs. They fell short in the races for Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and a trade for Tyler Glasnow, who all went to the Los Angeles Dodgers on historically lucrative contracts. They had also not yet signed outfielder Cody Bellinger as expected. National writers were beginning to doubt what the Cubs were doing.

Then, things finally started to heat up. The Cubs' offseason kicked off when they signed Japanese left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga to an MLB contract. Immediately following, they traded with the Dodgers to acquire their top prospect, Michael Busch. Presumably, this was to help answer the lingering questions at the first base position. They also agreed to terms with reliever Hector Neris to add to the bullpen.

Those two excellent moves, but the talk of the Cubs Convention the weekend that followed was re-signing Bellinger. Cubs fans would not accept the offseason completed until that job was done. After signing veterans David Peralta and Dominic Smith, they finally got what they wanted. Bellinger signed a three-year deal. They also added veteran Garrett Cooper for some extra depth at first base and in right field.

Retaining Bellinger, adding Imanaga and Neris to the pitching staff, and adding Busch and Cooper to address first base was not on the level an Ohtani deal would have taken them. Still, the Cubs' offseason is precisely what the doctor would have ordered to compete in 2024. However, one writer would label the work done as unimpressive.

Schoenfield Gives Gubs A C+ For Cubs' Offseason

ESPN's Senior Writer David Schoenfield gave the Cubs' Offseason a grade of C+ going into the 2024 regular season. He states that no signing was "exciting," but the Cubs did avoid disaster by getting the Cody Bellinger deal done. Schoenfield is also not sold on Shota Imanaga as a starter in MLB. He calls Imanaga "homer-prone" and a downgrade from former Cub Marcus Stroman. In comparison, he gave the same C+ grade to the St. Louis Cardinals.

This is about what I would expect a national baseball writer to give the Cubs. With all the talk of them being in the mix for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto but not getting a deal done, plus the time it took to retain Bellinger, the Cubs were very close to a failing grade. But signing Bellinger changed all perspectives locally to a feeling of confidence. As discussed on the Pinwheels & Ivy podcast (like and subscribe), Bellinger provides the depth, versatility, and veteran leadership missing from the roster the Cubs needed.

As for Imanaga, he looked great in his first start while giving up a home run. One pitch can change everything, sure. But he also struck out five. Time will tell how prone he is to the deep ball, especially in the summer. Neris stabilizes a bullpen that lacked stability down the stretch in 2023. If Busch pans out at first, the only question left to answer is the defense at third base.

This Cubs' offseason grade also didn't consider the young talent ready to take on MLB at any moment. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ben Brown, and Matt Shaw (to name a couple) are all on the doorstep and ready to impact the Cubs in 2024. Grade as you will, but the Cubs have their eyes set on a fun summer at Wrigley.