The top of this offseason’s free agent lists are littered with former Cubs.
Notable names range from Kyle Schwarber, a beloved member of the 2016 World Series team who was an NL MVP finalist for the Phillies this year, to Dylan Cease, a former Cubs prospect and sixth-round draft pick who spent the first five years of his major-league career with the White Sox and last two with the Padres.
They include a more recent departure, Cody Bellinger, whose two years with the Cubs spring-boarded him into a strong 2025 season as a Yankee. And members of this year’s Cubs team – right fielder Kyle Tucker, left-handed starting pitcher Shota Imanaga — round out the marquee group.
Whether those former Cubs end up back in blue pinstriped or not, they’re sure to come up in discussions at MLB’s annual GM meetings next week, as baseball executives and agents descend on Las Vegas.
Here are other Cubs storylines to follow:
Rookie of the Year
The BBWAA Awards rollout is next week, beginning with Rookie of the Year on Monday.
Cubs right-hander Cade Horton is a finalist for the award, along with Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin.
Horton (11-4, 2.67 ERA) steadied the Cubs’ pitching staff in the second half, with a dominant 1.03 ERA that led all pitchers with 60-plus innings pitched after the All-Star break and helped the Cubs secure the top NL wild-card spot.
The Cubs limited Horton’s pitch count down the stretch while keeping in mind the postseason, which Horton missed anyways because of a fractured rib. But his restricted playing time (118 innings) last season could work against him in a national vote.
Manager of the Year, Cy Young and MVP are set to be announced Tuesday through Thursday.
Hoyer on Imanaga
GM meetings will provide the setting for Hoyer to comment for the first time on the Cubs’ decision to decline the three-year club option that would have extended Imanaga’s four-year, $53 million deal to five years and a total of $80 million.
That move triggered Shota Imanaga’s 2026 player option for about $15 million, which he declined, sending him into free agency. The Cubs extended the qualifying offer to Imanaga on Thursday, and he has until Nov. 18 to accept or reject it.
Imanaga’s free agent status is part of a larger conversation about the Cubs’ need for pitching. That will surely be a popular topic next week, as the Cubs look to strengthen their rotation and almost completely rebuild their bullpen.
Offseason budget
Hoyer refrains from sharing specifics about his offseason budget every year, wanting to maintain the mystery as he negotiates with various teams and player agents. But in his end of season news conference in mid-October, he had even fewer answers than usual.
When asked if playoff revenue would expand the offseason budget, Hoyer said he hadn’t yet had those conversations with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“We’ll sit down over the next two or three weeks and go through that,” Hoyer said. “But I’m confident that we’re going to have enough money to field a good team. That’s the simplest thing I’ll say. But as far as details, I don’t know yet.”
Hoyer will likely remain relatively aloof on the topic, but he could provide some clarity this week.
The Cubs hosted five playoff games this year: all three of their wild-card games against the Padres, and two of the five games of the NL Division Series against the Brewers.
“Our crowds in the playoffs, they were unbelievably impressive,” Hoyer said. “I don’t ever remember players commenting on the crowds and the experience right after games the way they did repeatedly. I’d come down here [to the clubhouse] after games, and the players would be talking about the energy or talking about the experience, and that was really cool.”
Effects of expiring CBA
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement runs through the 2026 season, and the industry is bracing for another showdown between the owners and players when the time comes to negotiate a new contract.
Last time around, a 99-day lockout shortened spring training and pushed back Opening Day by a week. With a year still left on that 2022-26 agreement, the sides have already begun arguing over the owners’ push for a salary cap.
“Obviously that’s been some part of our decision-making,” Hoyer said last month of the expiring CBA. “We’ve talked about that a lot, if you look at our contract structures. As we get closer to the end of the CBA is that that conversation probably gets louder and louder, as far as how that goes. But the truth of the matter is, we don’t know what the future holds in that regard.”
The contracts of left fielder Ian Happ, right fielder Seiya Suzuki, second baseman Nico Hoerner and starting pitcher Jameson Taillon all expire after the 2026 season. Hoyer said he hopes to have extension talks with “a number of” players this offseason.