Chicago Cubs could see significant improvement from within

The Chicago Cubs don’t need an infusion of new blood; they need several of their current players to return to their usual performance patterns

Chicago Cubs fans are upset about their favorite team’s lack of activity over the winter. They see the Cardinals add Paul Goldschmidt, they see the Brewers add Yasmani Grandal, they see the Reds acquire Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, and they wonder whether third place (or lower) is only one long summer away.

It’s an understandable fear. But it is not the only plausible forecast on the North Side for 2019. How would Chicago Cubs fans feel about their team’s prospects if the team suddenly acquired a pair of middle-of-the-order hitters, both with plus-.900 OPS, two starters, both with an ERA+ between 125 and 150, a closer coming off a 1.47 ERA and 194 ERA+, and a backstop with an .850 OPS.

Would those acquisitions set Wrigleyville afire with visions of invincibility? Yes, and here’s the kicker: The Cubs don’t have to “acquire” any of those players because they’re all already on their roster.  The sluggers are Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, the starters are Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendriks, the closer is Brandon Morrow and the catcher is Willson Contreras.

The catch, of course, is that in each case the players’ stat lines were compiled prior to 2018. Each of those players, for one reason or another, slumped last year, so much so that the real wonder is that the Chicago Cubs still won 95 games and reached the post-season.

If in 2019 those players, only one of whom (Morrow) will be older than 32, merely return to their previously established performance levels, the Cubs will have “acquired” all of that infusion of talent without making a single roster move.

Here’s a more detailed look at how the Cubs hope to upgrade both their every-day lineup and their pitching staff with a team that, on the surface anyway, is basically the status quo version of 2018.