I was at Shōta Imanaga’s official introduction to the Cubs on Friday. His press conference and his addition to the team has generated an understandable amount of excitement, especially given that the Cubs stayed utterly silent in the free agent and trade market for all of November and December.
Not long after Imanaga’s signing was confirmed, the Cubs traded with the Dodgers for reliever Yency Almonte and infielder Michael Busch. These two were also at the Cubs Convention at the same time as Imanaga, where we talked to Busch about his potential as the Cubs’ next first baseman.
It’s likely that both moves will improve the team. But as I write this, all of that happened nearly two weeks ago. And despite the enthusiasm around the Imanaga signing in particular, the refrain running through all of the Convention’s proceedings was that the Cubs need Cody Bellinger. From fans and players alike.
In theory, at least, the Cubs could roll into the 2024 season with what they have and call that enough. They have added depth to the rotation, the mainstays from last year’s bullpen are all coming back, and now they have someone to play first base. There’s enough there to be a decent baseball team.
But that’s not enough to perform like the Cubs should.
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