Chicago Cubs Have Shockingly Massive Decline in Payroll Despite Active Offseason

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the most active teams in baseball this offseason, with a bevy of trades and even some activity with free-agent signings.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been busy on the phone lines, bringing in superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker in a trade with the Houston Astros, sending Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees, and signing Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea, among others in free agency.

Despite the activity, there are Cubs fans who do not believe that it was enough to compete in 2025 and that the franchise could have done more to improve the product on the field.

The National League Central is one of the weaker divisions in baseball, second only to the American League Central, and the Milwaukee Brewers have taken a step back this winter from where they stood going into 2024.

It is hard to look at this Chicago team and see anything less than a division winner with the addition of Tucker to an already solid offense and one of the better starting rotations in the sport, but when taking a deeper look into things and seeing how drastic the decline in year over year payroll has been from 2024 to 2025, it's easier to understand the fans' complaints.

The only larger percentage drops than the Cubs at the moment belong to the White Sox and Marlins. https://t.co/FEOpK3Y0sX
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 12, 2025

The 19.32% drop in payroll is the third-largest decline, behind only the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins.

Those two teams are not anywhere close to competing, with the White Sox breaking the record for most single-season losses in 2024, and the Marlins selling off anything that isn't bolted to the ground.

At just over $43 million left to be spent to equal last year's figures, the club could easily add one or more players who are still remaining on the free-agent market.

Adding Alex Bregman on a short-term deal would allow Matt Shaw more leeway as he acclimates to the Major League level while getting Gold Glove-caliber defense and a championship pedigree from the former Astros star.

Adding Jack Flaherty would bring another veteran to the already-potent starting rotation, who also has a World Series ring that he received as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024.

There are moves that can still be made, and payroll space to be able to make them.

At this point in the offseason, however, it does not seem likely that Hoyer is willing to do anything else of note.