The Chicago Cubs are good. That sentence should not be surprising. They will compete for that NL Central crown for years to come. But that comes at a cost.
It is good that the Cubs don’t need to add a whole lot, because the simply cannot. For the Cubs wish list, I need to start with a disclaimer.
I will not be mentioning anything about Addison Russell. There are many opinions, and I have my own, but ultimately the decision is up to his employers and Santa doesn’t want to deal with it.
With that in mind, topping the list for me is a guy by the name of Yu Darvish. With only eight starts as a Cub, that signing did not start out on the right foot. Especially since his ERA was close to five.
In 2019, Darvish needs to be healthy and he needs to be the arm worth the contract. I was a noted pessimist before he signed, but I am actually on his side now. From what I can tell, he will be coming back stronger.
Another thing on the list is that Daniel Descalso is the All-Star caliber player that Bob Nightengale thinks he is. That would be extremely helpful.
The Cub lineup really does not need that much help, but having a utility man such as Descalso hitting will be very important. Especially considering there was a big to do about finding the five million over two years to pay him.
Overall, there just needs to be a bounce back. Cub fans don’t want to see Kris Bryant miss any time next year, and that would be huge too. They are still a really good team.