Chicago Cubs Should Pursue Six-Time All-Star to Upgrade Lineup
There are questions about how the Chicago Cubs will perform this season after missing out on the playoffs a year ago and not exactly dominating the free agency period.
That's not to say the front office didn't make solid additions.
Jed Hoyer and his staff certainly were able to address areas of need by adding a starting pitcher, Major League bullpen pieces, lineup depth, and getting back their star slugger.
However, there are a few players throughout this roster that are prime candidates to regress in 2024.
On the offensive side, those names are Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel.
Bellinger put together his best season since winning the NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 by slashing .307/.356/.525 with 26 homers and 97 RBI for the Cubs.
Prior to this, he put together two straight years of OPS+ numbers well-below the league average.
Morel also had a breakout season in 2023 when he posted a slash line of .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs of his own and 70 RBI.
He's expected to get more opportunities in the lineup and at the plate this year, but with that also comes the chance that the negative side of things pop up as well.
Chicago should be looking into adding six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez to boost this lineup.
The veteran is an elite hitter, getting selected to five All-Star games after he turned 30 years old with numbers that consist of roughly a .280 batting average, and a total of 163 homers and 526 RBI during this time.
Martinez would be insurance for this offense in case it does sputter.
An issue the Cubs would run into is they would have to primarily use the slugger in their designated hitter role, something that new manager Craig Counsell wants to avoid by keeping that position fluid.
One main reason is because they're not sure Morel can play at third base defensively, and to get him at-bats, they might need to use him at DH.
But, there's no doubt that Martinez would improve the overall profile of this offense by adding another power bat and someone who can get on base consistently.
Chicago's front office likely isn't considering this type of move late in the offseason, but they certainly should.
