The Chicago Cubs certainly will look different in 2025.
Chicago missed the playoffs again this season but wasn't too far away from earning a spot. The Cubs are trending in the right direction, and adding one or two key players this winter could be the difference between missing the playoffs and earning a spot next year.
The Cubs certainly should be taking a look at the starting rotation this winter. Any team that has any hope of making the playoffs in 2025 should be looking at their pitching. No team can have too much top-tier pitching -- aside from possibly the Seattle Mariners. The Cubs need to look at the rotation, and that could lead to some changes.
One longtime member of the Cubs' rotation will be a free agent this winter, and the club will need to decide whether or not they want to bring him back. Veteran starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks made his big league debut with Chicago in 2014 and has been with the team ever since. He has been a steady member of the Cubs' rotation and was a key player for the team en route to the World Series in 2016.
It already has been speculated that Hendricks may not return in 2025. He will be a free agent, and Spotrac currently is projecting him to receive a deal worth $14 million over three years. That certainly is an affordable deal for the Cubs if they want to bring the veteran back. But the Cubs may look to go in a different direction.
Chicago will have money to spend and already has been linked to top-tier free agents -- like New York Mets star Pete Alonso. Will the Cubs bring Hendricks back or look to add a different starter?
More MLB: Cubs have 'realistic possibility' of signing $242 million star
