Chicago Cubs in Great Spot Heading Into Season Despite Frustratingly Low Payroll

Despite being on track to spend less money in 2025 than 2024, the Chicago Cubs are in a great spot heading into the season.

Oct 1, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer smiles before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs play in one of the largest markets in the MLB but certainly don’t operate in the same fashion as the other franchises with the same luxury.

It has to be frustrating for fans to see teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets spend huge money every offseason, taking advantage of the market they exist in.

Cubs ownership, for whatever reason, is not willing to spend like those teams.

Inexplicably, they have lowered their payroll in 2025 compared to where it was in 2024, dropping from just under $240 million to under $199 million.

The team has just over $42 million in wiggle room before reaching the tax threshold, so they could have certainly spent more money this winter. Their payroll of $198,394,047 is 12th in the MLB.

Still, Chicago did incredibly well upgrading the talent on its roster despite the lack of money spent.

They did enough to warrant Kiley McDaniel of ESPN mentioning them among the winners of the MLB offseason.

“The Cubs added Carson Kelly, Matthew Boyd, Ryan Pressly and Kyle Tucker while lowering payroll and might be in a better spot than they were at this point last season,” he wrote.

Part of their being in a better spot is that their rivals in the National League Central, as a collective, didn’t do much to improve their outlooks.

The Cincinnati Reds did the most, making several moves with their roster and hiring Terry Francona to take over as their manager. But many believe them to still be behind Chicago in the pecking order.

Last year’s division winners, the Milwaukee Brewers, traded All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees. They didn’t make many additions, but their strong group of youngsters led by Jackson Chourio should not be overlooked.

Also aiding the Cubs is that their last two competitors in the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, were mentioned in the losers section by McDaniel.

The Cardinals and Brewers are the only two teams in baseball that didn’t sign a player to a free-agent deal this offseason. St. Louis also slashed payroll but didn’t make an acquisition the caliber of Kyle Tucker.

There is some optimism that the Cardinals can bounce back in the near future, but they likely won’t challenge the Cubs in 2025.

The Pirates aren’t far off from being contenders, as their pitching staff will give Chicago and everyone else fits. But, ownership’s unwillingness to spend money on the lineup will hold them back.

The Cubs certainly aren’t upset at how Pittsburgh is operating, as it will make their path to a division title all the more easier.