Chicago Cubs still weighing their outfield options — and the catcher puzzle is not yet clear
LAS VEGAS — The Chicago Cubs’ primary needs this offseason center around pitching.
But with right fielder Seiya Suzuki and left fielder Ian Happ entering free agency, the Cubs also must address the corner outfield positions. The avenue they take to fill those spots will depend on whether Suzuki rejects his qualifying offer, which the Cubs expect to happen, and how his market plays out. Suzuki is expected to receive a lucrative contract as one of the top hitters on the market.
The Cubs could feel comfortable rolling with a mix of Pedro Ramírez, Matt Shaw and Kevin Alcántara, the latter of whom is out of minor-league options, and mix in a veteran to help platoon like they did this year with Michael Conforto and Tyrone Taylor. They also might pursue another proven, reliable bat if Happ and Suzuki both depart in free agency.
“All the scenarios are on the table,” general manager Carter Hawkins said Wednesday at the MLB GM meetings. “It would definitely make our lineup better on paper to go get a proven guy, like Seiya. But that might be at the cost of something else that could take away wins from some other part of our team. So that’s the conversations that we’re having.”
Ramírez, in particular, is in line to gain more regular playing time in the outfield. Hawkins pointed to the 22-year-old’s athleticism, aptitude and willingness to work as to why the Cubs believe he can handle the outfield.
“Put those things together — they can do a lot of things he didn’t think they could do,” Hawkins said. “There’s a risk to going with some unproven guys, but that allows you maybe to get some more proven guys in other spots. So, yeah, I don’t think there’s one path that we necessarily would cross out at this juncture.”
Cubs still plotting a course at catcher
The Cubs’ catching tandem of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya was one of the best in the majors the last two years.
But with Kelly reaching free agency and likely to garner plenty of interest from other teams that need catching help — which could include the New York Yankees, who tried to acquire the veteran from the Cubs at the trade deadline — they might decide to invest in other areas of the roster and rely on options currently in the organization.
“We’re going to figure out where we’re going to allocate our resources over the course of the next few weeks,” Hawkins said. “That could be the catcher position. It certainly could be that we stick internally. But it’s an area where people need to step up.
“Carson was a great player for us the last couple of years. It could be Carson who steps up for us, but someone’s going to need to step up and fill those wins, and I’m excited about our ability to do that.”
The Cubs are excited about prospect Owen Ayers’ development behind the plate and his offensive progression after he ascended from High A to Triple A by the end of the season.
The 25-year-old former 19th-round draft pick hit 25 home runs and 29 doubles in 125 games between three levels. He might need more time to be fully ready for the big leagues. The Cubs wanted to give Ayers exposure to the MLB environment by having him around the team in the final days of the regular season and during the playoffs.
Hawkins said Ayers will compete for a roster spot.
“He’s been around the team certainly, but there’s a trust that he’ll have to earn if he’s to get those opportunities,” Hawkins said. “Bringing in a veteran catcher or someone who’s been around certainly mitigates some of the risk of bringing in someone that hasn’t done it before.
“But we’ve got to take risks to be able to achieve the goals that we want to achieve, and we’ll be weighing all of that as we make our offseason decisions.”
At the very least, the Cubs will bring back Amaya, who likely will get an uptick in playing time, barring the addition of another catcher. Amaya, 27, was limited to 28 games in 2025 by oblique and ankle injuries but bounced back to appear in 83 games this year while producing a 98 OPS+. Hawkins complimented Amaya’s “really good” defensive season.
“He handles the pitching staff well, he threw the ball a little bit more effectively,” Hawkins said. “I think he would be the first to say offensively he was a little disappointed in the output. We’ve all seen a little bit more out of (Amaya) offensively, and that’s the expectation that he gets himself in shape physically and mentally to have a type of offensive year that we know he can have in 2027.”
Plenty of pitching options to pursue
As the Cubs continue to evaluate the pitching market coming out of the GM meetings, which ended Wednesday, a reunion with one or more of their now free-agent starters isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Right-hander Clay Holmes and left-hander David Peterson, in particular, make sense to explore a return, given their strengths and how they can be optimized with an elite defense behind them.
“There’s not any player that we just had (who) under any circumstance (we) wouldn’t want to have come back,” Hawkins said. “It’s trying to find the match with the deal that makes sense for them, makes sense for us.”