With their one year fling with Kyle Tucker in the past, the Chicago Cubs are now tasked with replacing a 4.6 bWAR player who ranked tenth in baseball with a 143 OPS+. A new MLB.com piece examines burning questions facing each of the 30 teams heading into next week's Winter Meetings - and it feels like we all know the answer to the Cubs' query.
"Will they surprise people and add an impact bat?"
No, I'd wager they won't. Jed Hoyer remains unwilling to get uncomfortable when talks get down to the eleventh hour (as evidenced by the team bowing out of the Dylan Cease sweepstakes at the finish line), so it's hard to imagine the Cubs will be the team that blows the competition out of the water to sign someone like Alex Bregman.