The Chicago Cubs made the following additions to their 2025 projected active roster:
- Kyle Tucker, rightfield
- Matt Shaw, third base
- Carson Kelly, catcher
- Gage Workman, infield
- Jon Berti, utility
- Matthew Boyd, starting pitcher
- Colin Rea, starting pitcher
- Ryan Pressly, closer
- Ryan Brasier, relief pitcher
- Caleb Thielbar, relief pitcher
Shaw and Workman make their MLB debuts this season. Shaw is a top prospect who is slated to start at third base, and Workman is a rule five draft pick.
Tucker serves as the replacement to Cody Bellinger. Tucker is a year younger and a more consistent player, having posted between 4.2 and 5.0 fWAR in each of the last four seasons. His 4.7 projected fWAR is the highest on the team.
Shaw hit .303/.384/.522 in two minor league seasons, .298/.395/.534 at AAA. He will play 2025 as a 23 year old, so he still has time to improve at the major league level. The various projections at FanGraphs put him at about .248/.320/.405 for 2025, but that seems a bit low to me. Cubs third baseman hit .210/.303/.332 last year, so even Shaw’s low projections would be an improvement.
Kelly, Workman, and Berti rebuild the bench. All three look like they will be relatively high K players with relatively few walks. The starting lineup, however, is very good, so the bench just needs to be able to spell the starters.
Boyd made just eight starts in 2024 after returning from Tommy John surgery. His strikeout rate went up, however, and his BB and HR rates were good also. The depth chart ranks him as the team’s fourth starter, but if he can maintain his averages from 2024, he might move up a bit. Rea is listed as the sixth starter, and may end up more as a swing man. He walks few batters, but both his K rate and HR rate are at the poor end of the scale, The low walks help the HRs from doing too much damage, and a low BABIP allows him to function with a low K rate. He is a solid back of the rotation pitcher.
Pressly takes over the closer role for Chicago. He lost that role in Houston last season. He allowed a .333 BABIP, which was well above his career .294 level. His velocity was down, and that may have allowed batters to square up the ball a bit more. Overall, his numbers were not that different from the previous season.
Brasier and Thielbar are both old. Brasier is a lower K, low BB pitcher, so the Cubs defense needs to be on their toes. Last season saw Thiebar’s walks skyrocket. With a high K rate, Cubs fielders may be able to take an inning off when he’s on the mound.
The Cubs offense should be very better, and could carry them a long way toward a playoff slot. A full season from Boyd could bring the staff more in line with the offense. I doubt the pitching staff will be great, but they should only need to be good.