Like a Disney adult waiting for the rope to drop outside Frontierland, the Chicago Cubs were ready and waiting for the offseason to officially begin. Their quest to avoid a third straight 100-loss season began today with the acquisition of outfielders Ed Harris and Bernard Blanchard from Seattle and Kansas City, respectively.
To Seattle: $3 million in cash considerations, plus Chicago also adds 27 year old super utilityman Victor Adams in the deal. To Kansas City: 22 year old Kyren Paris, a hard-working outfielder acquired from St. Louis at this year’s deadline in the Jordan Walden/Christopher Hanna swap. Both of the newest Cubs were on the trade block in part due to Seattle/KC’s financial and roster situations as they try to retain the cores that got them to the 2024 playoffs.
The Cubs are hoping their advantageous budget room helps them improve a weak spot on their roster. With Madison Bumgarner’s retirement, Chicago is finally free of their high-priced free agent contracts from the days of old. They literally have no guaranteed money on the books in 2025 and beyond. Rather than dip into the multi-year offer well again, they’re trying the trade market this time around. Consider the Cubs’ primary outfielders from 2024:
- LF Drew Sanders, .292/.339/.436, 116 OPS+ and 0.9 WAR
- CF Red Elder, .257/.279/.343, 74 OPS+ and -0.1 WAR
- RF Brennen Davis, .189/.268/.296, 59 OPS+ and -0.8 WAR
Sources indicate Elder is on the trade block and Davis is ticketed for more seasoning in AAA. Sanders is the only one among the trio who is penciled into the Opening Day lineup, although that could be at 1B or DH if not in the outfield.
Harris and Blanchard’s performance isn’t quite what it used to be, the Cubs will admit. Harris struggled in his first full season in Seattle after being acquired in early 2023; he posted just a 95 OPS+ and 1.2 WAR as the contact-hitter’s batting average dropped to .245. But Harris hit .308 the last time he called Wrigley Field home and that was just 17 months ago. Blanchard was a 5.5 WAR player in 2022, but even while battling a fractured finger this season he hit .283 with an above-average OPS+.
Even if they don’t return to form, it’s incredibly reasonable to expect both of them to outperform the numbers Sanders/Elder/Davis posted in 2024. The acquisition cost was low enough and the Chicago Cubs took the leap.
So what’s next for Chicago? Well, they need a manager, and with a new field manager comes an overhaul to the coaching staff. They’ll be looking for similarly opportunistic upgrades elsewhere around the diamond. And they have some $30+ million burning a hole in their pocket even after today’s acquisitions. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead the rest of the winter for Chicago, and more importantly, just how far it will take them.