MLB Insider Reveals Cubs Budget For 2026 Free Agency Signings

The Chicago Cubs' ownership has been notoriously stringent on their team's spending in the past. This has limited Jed Hoyer and the rest of the Cubs front office's ability to offer top free agents the amount of money it would actually take to sign them in recent years.

While Chicago has managed to land quality free agents every once in a while and acquire elite players via trade (such as them securing Kyle Tucker last offseason), there's still some frustration among the fan base that the Cubs are more frugal than makes sense, given the amount of revenue the franchise generates.

But there are some signs the budget isn't as tight this offseason. Hoyer has hinted at this himself by saying that the Cubs expect to be in play for quality players at positions of need.

The clearest position of need is starting pitcher, and it was reported that Chicago was in on right-handed hurler Dylan Cease before bidding surpassed the $200 million mark (he ultimately signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays).

Luckily for Chicago, other free agent pitchers on the market won't command as much money as Cease. But do the Cubs have enough in their budget for them?

Cubs Insider Reveals Team's Offseason Budget

Cubs insider Bruce Levine was the guest on a December 4 episode of 670 The Score's Mully & Haugh Show, and addressed the budget Chicago is working with right now.

"The one thing that that type of report [about the Cubs bowing out on Cease after $200 million] shows you is that the Cubs are, number one, letting people know they're going to spend money. And number two, even though they finished second, they're is, according to my sources, upwards of $50 to $60 million yet to be spent on this year's payroll," Levine said, per an X post from 670 The Score.

"There is that flexibility in there for the Cubs right now, to probably spend somewhere between $45, $55 million, which would even keep them from going over the luxury tax number at about $245 [million]," he added.

The Cubs have $50 million to $60 million more to add to their 2026 payroll, @MLBBruceLevine's sources told him.

"There's that flexibility in there," he says. pic.twitter.com/lbEIVJwpZP
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 4, 2025

This report from Levine will be music to Cubs fans' ears. Having around $50 million to spend on free agents means that Chicago should be able to get a frontline starting pitcher like Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suarez, or Michael King while also adding several quality bullpen pieces.

While the Cubs likely don't have enough in their payroll to get an ace-caliber pitcher and one of the premier free agent hitters, adding one of the two, plus strengthening their bullpen, would make for a successful offseason and cement them as contenders to win the NL Central.

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