Cubs Reportedly No Longer Interested in Former World Series Champion
Entering the offseason, there were clear upgrades that the Chicago Cubs' front office needed to make happen if they were going to become contenders.
With Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman hitting the open market, maintaining power in the lineup and keeping another ace-type of arm in the rotation were musts.
Mercifully, the Bellinger and Cubs saga came to an end when they agreed to a deal that would keep the slugger in Chicago for at least the upcoming year. They replaced Stroman with Japanese star Shota Imanaga, whose early reports suggest he could be a future No. 1.
On top of that, the Cubs needed to upgrade their bullpen.
This was arguably their biggest need during the offseason as their relief unit was a major reason why they collapsed late in the year and caused the team to miss out on the playoffs for the third straight season.
The front office, again, was able to do that.
Signing former Houston Astros star reliever Hector Neris and trading for veteran arm Yency Almonte gives them much more depth and talent than they had in 2023.
It was also thought Chicago might hit the former Astros well again by adding Ryne Stanek, but now it looks like that is no longer the case according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
"There was mutual interest between the team and Ryne Stanek, but his market hasn't fallen enough that the Cubs would be willing to lose the roster flexibility they want to preserve with their bullpen," he writes.
Sharma also notes they would like to maintain flexibility in their bullpen by rotating players between their MLB roster and Triple-A affiliate.
Stanek would not provide that.
So, it seems like the Cubs won't be adding another player from Houston's team that has become a dynasty in the American League and who played a major role in them winning the 2022 World Series championship.
