Chicago Cubs may be shifting team pitching philosophy, per insider

Arguably, the biggest pitching decision the Chicago Cubs made so far this offseason was to not exercise their team option on veteran swingman Colin Rea.

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One could argue that the $7.5 million for that 2027 option was the big reason it didn’t get exercised. Given all of the Cubs’ needs this offseason, the front office will want every bit of money they can get their hands on.

But Sahadev Sharma of the North Side Territory podcast believes that not bringing Rea back is a sign of a shift in the team’s thinking about pitching and how they want to invest their pitching dollars.

A shift in Cubs pitching focus?

May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Colin Rea (53) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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It’s also, according to Sharma, a sign that the Cubs may be in more of a full rebuild mode with a focus on adding the right kinds of pitchers rather than stockpiling any quality arms they can come across.

Per Sharma:

“If you were truly in ‘we just need bodies’ mode…and so worried about filling out the staff, then I don’t think you let him walk…because you’d be too worried about things…I also think it’s telling about the profile. The Cubs are looking in a different direction.”

The Cubs may be adjusting their models when it comes to the high price of acquiring strikeout pitchers versus the won-loss cost of not making that investment. Somewhere in the mix, groundball pitchers would also take a prominent spot in the Cubs’ new pitching model.

Also, per Sharma:

“These guys that don’t get a ton of strikeouts, you better be great at groundballs, otherwise you may not be a fit for the Cubs right now. They need those two things you need to be really good at. If you have a low groundball rate, you better be striking out at a really high rate. And as good, as valuable as Colin Rea has been, they’re going to look for other qualities and traits. That says something, To me, not picking up that option, it’s a little bit of a sign of the direction they’re going in and the change in philosophy when it comes to the way they’re thinking about pitching.”

Ideal free agent targets

Chicago White Sox Freddy Peralta — Oct 26, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) walks to the dugout after a pitching change against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning in game three of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Going by that idea, Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, and Nick Pivetta might be Chicago’s most logical free agent targets this offseason. On the groundball side of things, a return for Clay Holmes and David Peterson would be the way to go.

This strikeout/groundball focus is not a new thing. The Cubs reportedly made a bid on the strikeout-heavy free agent Dylan Cease last offseason and then they targeted groundball specialists Holmes and Peterson for their late season playoff push this year.

But maybe this season, they’ll really go all-in on the model. They have to do something because the team’s pitching failures have resulted in two straight seasons of playoff disappointment and the pitching outlook for 2027 looks even more bleak right now.

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