As the Cubs build out their offseason to-do list, acquiring power bats will be near the top.
After another disappointing season, the Cubs enter this winter with plenty of holes on the roster and money they are willing to spend.
For president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, the need for more pop in the lineup is apparent.
“We definitely need to continue to add offensively. We didn’t have enough power this year,” Hoyer told Laurence Holmes and Leila Rahimi Wednesday on 670 The Score. “When I look at the breakdown of our season, I mentioned this in the press conference, we just didn’t blow anyone out. We played so many close games, and that’s taxing on your bullpen and it also brings luck into the equation a lot. When you play a lot of close games, you’re actively bringing randomness into the game.
“The best teams blow people out, and you go back and look at the 2016 team, we blew everyone out. You look at teams like the Braves and the Dodgers, what they do in games decided by five or more runs and their record is incredible. That to me is the mark of a really good team. …
In some notable offensive measures, the Cubs were in the middle of the pack league wide in 2022. They were 17th in homers in 2022 and 14th in OPS, but when it came to runs scored, they were 22nd.
There is plenty of room for improvement, though. They could swing big this offseason by targeting someone like Carlos Correa, or there options that should be a bit more cost-effective like J.D. Martinez. There are power bats on the market this offseason, it just depends how much the Cubs want to spend on them.
Whatever the case, Hoyer made abundantly clear he wants to bring more power to the Cubs.
“The teams that really separate themselves are teams that can spread games out, we had no ability to do that this year, and we have to improve that ability," Hoyer said. "Some of that I really believe is coming through the farm system, but we also have to look externally as well and find players that can help us build that kind of offense.”
The Cubs finished the season strong, inspiring some hope that with the right offseason additions, Chicago can get back to playing competitive baseball in the not-too-distant future. The belief within the organization seems to be that adding more power to the lineup will go a long way in making that happen.
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