Cubs' offseason focus central to becoming annual playoff contenders

PHILADELPHIA -- One of the reasons that Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer wanted to bring Craig Counsell aboard as manager was to add his outside perspective to the inner workings of the organization.

As Counsell’s first season at the helm nears its end, there is still a clear need for improvement.

Counsell recently described the “big gap” that the Cubs need to close between themselves and the Brewers, who clinched the National League Central crown on Wednesday. The manager went on to bluntly state that Chicago “should be trying to build 90-win teams” as the floor for constructing a sustained playoff contender.

“When I saw his comments,” Hoyer said ahead of Monday night’s 6-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, “I mean, listen, the standings don't lie. You are what you are. And I think when you look at the standings, there's a big gap in the standings. There's a big gap to the rest of the division.

“And I think we do have to -- all of us, from me on down -- we have to look at it and say, ‘OK, what do we have to do this offseason and going forward to get to that place consistently? It's not about doing it once. It's about getting to a place where we feel like we can do it consistently.”

To that last point, the Cubs do not view this as a situation in need of a dramatic overhaul with a wild spending spree ahead of 2025. Both Counsell and Hoyer still believe in the health of the organization. The MLB roster has strong pitching and defense as its backbone, young emerging core players, established veterans and one of the top farm systems in baseball.

Expect the North Siders to be targeted in their approach to the offseason.

Depending on whether Cody Bellinger elects to stay in 2025 or opt out and hit free agency, there is little wiggle room on the position-player side of things. Chicago could upgrade at catcher, and possibly add a bat in a Bellinger-esque role (outfielder, first base and/or designated hitter). Chicago is likely to add to its rotation, and building up bullpen depth will be a priority.

In order for the Cubs to jump into the 90-plus win range – not only for ‘25, but as the year-in, year-out standard – it will take more than upgrading the roster. Counsell was asked if evaluating the Cubs’ processes will also be a priority.

“Absolutely,” Counsell said on Friday. “Definitely process.”

Hoyer pointed out that the Cubs have spent a lot of time and resources on improving their operations behind the scenes in scouting and player development. Many of those changes began to take shape in 2019 and in the subsequent years, during which Hoyer also added multiple external voices to his front-office team.

In the weeks and months ahead, Hoyer and Counsell will continue to have conversations about what else can be enhanced throughout the organization.

“Listen, he's an incredible baseball mind,” Hoyer said. “And he's obviously seen an excellent organization up close. He's seen the things we can do, and a big part of bringing in a different perspective, a person from a different organization, are those things.

“We've changed so much in the last three or four years in terms of how we run different departments, how we're doing things differently. But obviously there's room to grow.”

Counsell does not expect to have all the answers, either.

“To see different sides of an issue, I think is important,” Counsell said. “Not only your side. [You try] to take the other viewpoint of it and maybe have a conversation about that. It’s always helped me to get to better answers. It’s challenging my own beliefs, too.”

The Cubs -- officially eliminated from the postseason field on Saturday -- will likely finish in the same win range as last year’s 83-win club that narrowly missed the playoffs. The Brewers in the Central, plus the group of NL Wild Card contenders, were all either closing in on 90 wins or at that mark on Monday.

And at Citizens Bank Park, the Cubs had an up-close look at just how big the gap is between them and an NL powerhouse like the Phillies, who clinched the NL East title on Monday.

“Ultimately, you can look at the standings for the gap on the field,” Hoyer said. “It's not only what holes in the roster we need to fill, it's also what's available. And then, how do you make that happen? Every offseason, the tapestry is complex, trying to figure out what's available, what's not. And we have to go through that process.”