The Chicago Cubs will have a bit of a financial headache to deal with this winter. At the moment, the North Siders are firmly in a playoff spot and riding high since the trade deadline. The team’s top exec, Jed Hoyer, made multiple moves ahead of the deadline to give Chicago a real shot at a championship. Landing Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes dramatically improve the Cubs’ rotation.
Although most Cubs fans are solely focused on 2026, Hoyer and Co. likely have one eye on the future. At the moment, Chicago has several pending unrestricted free agents. This includes both Gausman and Holmes, as well as Shota Imanaga, David Peterson, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki. Because of this lengthy list, Hoyer and the Cubs are unlikely to retain all of these players.
The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma is now claiming that the Chicago Cubs are expected to use most of their available funds on pitching. If so, it could be bad news for Suzuki. “The belief is that much of Chicago’s investments, either prospect capital or actual money, will go toward pitching,” claimed Sharma. “In a weak free-agent class for position players, Suzuki might quickly get priced out of the Cubs’ plans.”
Chicago previously signed Suzuki to a five-year, $85 million contract before the 2022 campaign. Despite the big financial hit, the outfielder has proved to be a solid signing by the Cubs. So far this season, the star is second on the team in OPS, slugging, and RBIs behind MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong. Potentially losing Suzuki in free agency would be a significant blow for Chicago.
Chicago Cubs Previously Listened to Trade Offers for Seiya Suzuki
GettySeiya Suzuki remains one of the most reliable hitters for the Chicago Cubs.
As Sharma points out, the pending free agent class, particularly in the outfield, is fairly weak. For instance, fellow veterans George Springer, Trent Grisham, Randy Arozarena, Taylor Ward, and Happ headline the list. Suzuki, however, has a higher WAR in 2026 than all of these players. In fact, the Chicago Cubs star’s 3.6 WAR is currently tied with Nick Kurtz for 24th-best in all of baseball.
Suzuki was previously involved in trade talks throughout the summer. In fact, the Seattle Mariners were heavily linked with the slugger in early June. At the time, the Cubs were struggling and possibly looking to offload the pending free agent before the deadline. This, however, all changed when Chicago started to turn things around. The outfielder’s no-trade clause in his current contract complicated the precarious situation as well.
Chicago Urged to Re-sign Star Outfielder
While the Chicago Cubs are expected to prioritize pitching this winter, most fans of the club want to keep Suzuki. Duane Pesice from Cubs Insider recently hinted at this in a recent article. According to Pesice, retaining the star outfielder appears to “have public traction” within the fanbase.
Hoyer also likely prefers to re-sign the star. After all, Chicago’s outfield will have plenty of question marks without Suzuki and Happ on the roster. Matt Shaw and Kevin Alcantara may have to step up if both veterans are lost in free agency. Nevertheless, money will play a significant part in negotiations between Suzuki and the Cubs. The slugger may be able to get a bigger salary from another club.
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